Catch a Falling Star, The August Perseid Meteor Shower
Video Link...
http://youtu.be/UJ_B0d1pr6I
More meteor shower guides -> Geminids | Leonids | Orionids
The Perseid meteor shower is named after the constellation Perseus, which is located in roughly the same point of the night sky where the Perseid meteor shower appears to originate from. This is a useful naming convention, but not very accurate!
The source of the Perseid meteor shower is actually debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Every year, the earth passes through the debris cloud left by the comet when the earth's atmosphere is bombarded by what is popularly known as "falling stars."
When and where to look for Perseids in 2011
In 2011, visibility (the weather also notwithstanding) will be somewhat limited by a full moon on August 13 which will likely wipe out fainter meteors from view.
Because of the way the earth hits this debris cloud, the Perseid meteor shower is much more visible in the Northern hemisphere.
People in Canada, for instance, can see the meteor shower by mid-July, but generally there isn't much activity at such an early date. Throughout Europe, the US and the rest of North America, meteor shower activity usually peaks sometime around August 12th, when it is not unusual to see at least 60 meteors per hour streaking across the Northeast sky.
The meteors are certainly bright, but they are actually only tiny objects, usually no more than a grain of sand. However, as they travel at speeds of up to 71 kilometers per second, these small particles put on quite a brilliant show.
The Perseid meteor showers were observed as far back as two thousand years ago, and in ancient Europe, the Perseid meteor shower was known as the "Tears of St. Lawrence."
How to view Perseids
Read More...http://www.chiff.com/science/perseids.htm
2011 Meteor Showers
The next meteor shower is the Perseids on the night of August 13.
| Name | Date of Peak | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | night of January 3 | New |
| Lyrids | night of April 21 | Rises after midnight |
| Eta Aquarids | night of May 5 | Sets in early evening |
| Perseids | night of August 13 | Full |
| Draconids | night of October 8 | Sets around midnight |
| Orionids | night of October 21 | Rises after midnight |
| Leonids | night of November 17 | Rises around midnight |
| Geminids | night of December 13 | Just past full |
NOTES These are approximate times for the Lower 48 states; actual shower times can vary. Bright moonlight makes it difficult to see all but the brightest meteors.
What are meteor showers?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower.
Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.
What are shooting stars?
Read More...http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors
| Orbit Diagram | |
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| Orbit Viewer | |
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Go there and See Orbital Paths...
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?orb=1;sstr=2001
May 29
- Mars 3 Launch (USSR Mars Orbiter/Lander)
- 23rd Rencontres De Blois On Particle Physics And Cosmology, Blois, France
- 2011 Texas Star Party, near Fort Davis, Texas
If you want the complete list going more than a year ahead then see the Space Calendar at NASA JPL.
Go there...
http://www.worldwidetelescopes.org/2011/05/20/space-calendar-may-23-may-29-2011/
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