August 11, 2010: Astronomers are predicting a dazzling display of shooting stars on the night of August 12/13 as the Perseid meteor shower reaches a peak in activity.
The show begins at sunset when Venus, Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon pop out of the western twilight in tight conjunction. All four heavenly objects will fit within a circle about 10 degrees in diameter, beaming together through the dusky colors of sunset. No telescope is required to enjoy this naked-eye event.
Observers can expect to see more than 60, and perhaps up to 100 meteors per hour. About half as many will be visible the night before and after.
The Perseids are one of the highlights of the astronomical calendar and this year is expected to one of the best in recent history. The shower is caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. Every 133 years the huge comet swings through the inner solar system and leaves behind a trail of dust and gravel. When Earth passes through the debris, specks of comet-stuff hit the atmosphere at 140, 000 mph and disintegrate in flashes of light. These meteors are called Perseids because they fly out of the constellation Perseus.
Perseus lies low in the sky during evening hours on the 12th, but it rides high in predawn on the 13th, making the best time to view the Perseids in the 2 or 3 hours before dawn. As Perseus rises and the night deepens, meteor rates will increase.
For best results, get away from city lights. The darkness of the countryside multiplies the visible meteor rate 3- to 10-fold. A good dark sky will even improve the planetary alignment, allowing faint Mars and Saturn to make their full contribution to the display. Many families plan camping trips to coincide with the Perseids. The Milky Way arching over a mountain campground provides the perfect backdrop for a meteor shower.
Most visible meteors lie within 120 miles (200 kilometers) of an observer.
Meteors become visible at an average height of 55 miles (90 km). Nearly all burn up before they reach an altitude of 50 miles (80 km).
No known meteorite has been associated with a meteor shower. (That is, no shower meteor has ever survived its flight through the atmosphere and been recovered.)
The typical bright meteor is produced by a particle with a mass less than 1 gram and with a size no larger than a pea.
The average total mass of meteoritic material entering the Earth's atmosphere is estimated to be between 100 and 1, 000 tons (91, 000 and 910, 000 kilograms) per day.
The hourly rate on a "non-shower" night is approximately 6 meteors per hour.
A meteoroid enters the atmosphere at velocities between 25, 000 and 165, 000 mph (40, 300 and 265, 000 km/h).
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