One of the best meteor showers of the year is well underway, as a new video shows.
NASA’s All-Sky Fireball Network established Perseid meteors striped on Saturday and Sunday (August 8 and 9). The footage, which you can see here, serves as a reminder to head outside for the famous Perseid shower, which is expected to pick up during the day from Tuesday to Wednesday (August 11 to August 12).
The Perseids appear between July 17 and August 24, because Earth is plagued by debris that shakes over the ions Comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteors seem to originate from the constellation Perseus, hence the name.
Related: Perseid meteor shower 2020: When, where & how to see it
The Perseids usually put on a memorable show, with observers under clear, dark skies typically fighting 45 to 90 meteors per hour during the peak of the shower. This year, however, it is adjusted to be subpar. The moon in the last quarter will hover low over the horizon in the preceding darkness during the Perseid peak, some meteors drowned with its luster.
However, in the coming days you will be able to detect some Perseids, if your airs are clear and your patience holds. You do not have to know where Perseus or other constellations are; just go outside, preferably after midnight, and look up. Let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and then wait for bright streaks of light to appear.
De All-Sky Fireball Network is a system of 17 skywatching cameras around the country that NASA uses to detect meteors that blow brighter than Venus in the sky. (This is the definition of a fireball.) The agency uses this information to better zoom in on material around the Earth, such as comet pun.
Editor’s note: If you’m snapping a great photo or video of 2020 Perseid meteor shower and would like to share it with Space.com for a possible story or gallery, send pictures and comments to [email protected].
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
