Some Persiders of 2019, as seen from Macedonia.
Spaceweather.com/Stojan Stojanovski
It’s early August, which means the annual Perseid meteor shower is active, and it’s ready to peak this week. The Perseids are one of the best, brightest batches of shooting stars, and it feels like we could use them now more than ever to add a little wonder and distraction in these nice stupid times.
This famous shower comes around the Earth each time this time through a waste cloud left by the giant comet 109P / Swift-Tuttle. Pieces of dust, pebbles and other cosmic detritus pop up in our atmosphere, burning up in short, bright streaks and even the occasional full-blown fireball stretching across the night sky.
In 2020, the Perseids are expected to peak on August 11 and 12, when the moon should be a little less than half full.
The popularity of the shower is a combination of the fact that it is one of the strongest, with a maximum of 100 visible meteors per hour on average, and it coincides with hot summer nights in the northern hemisphere. The declining moon will probably wash away many otherwise visible meteors, but that still leaves a lot to be desired which should be easy to see if you do a little planning.
See the Perseid meteorites make a celestial scene worldwide
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In general, a good strategy to go out to search for is the Perseids as late in the evening as possible, but still for monthly uprising at your location. So in New York, for example, you want to be so far away at 11 o’clock on Tuesday night (the picnic night) so far away from all that light pollution, because the moon will rise about an hour later at 12:08 o’clock on Wednesday. (You can search for sun and sunrise for your location with a site like TimeandDate.com.)
You can also try to block the moon by placing yourself next to a building, tree or something else that holds some of that moonlight out of your retinas.
The moon will disappear completely after mid-month, and although the Perseids will be past their prime, they will still be active and visible. This half-peak shower with completely dark skies could be almost the same as a full peak with a bright moon, so you do not think have to go out on the picnic night to catch it.
Once you have decided on the perfect time and a place with minimal light interference and a wide view of the sky, just lie back, let your eyes adjust and relax. Pillows, blankets, lounge chairs and soft drinks provide the ideal experience. It can take about 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, so be sure to be patient. If you follow all my advice, you are only guaranteed to see a meteor.
It does not really matter where in the sky you look, as long as you have a wide view. That said, the Perseids will appear to radiate from the constellation of Perseus, the Hero. If you want to practice being an advanced meteor spotter, look for Perseus and try to focus there while you watch. Then just try to look up without focusing anywhere. See if you notice a difference. We still have to deal with the unpredictability of nature, so results will differ.
That it’s probably the best part of the Perseids every year are the beautiful photos we get from talented astrophotographers who spend long nights outside.
As always, if you find yourself conceiving a beauty, please share it with me on Twitter or Instagram @EricCMack.
