The Perseids鈥攖he most active and brightest annual meteor shower鈥攂egan July 17聽but will peak late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, . Up to聽100 meteors per hour will cross the sky after 11 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday. 聽
There will be virtually no moonlight during the peak of the shower, making for ideal viewing conditions.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to see much fainter streaks, and the background stars will be even more brilliant,鈥 Constantine Tsang, senior planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and a field team member of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, told 国产吃瓜黑料.
The Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris shed from the comet Swift-Tuttle, . Swift-Tuttle is about 16 miles in diameter聽and orbits the sun once every 133 years. As Swift-Tuttle nears the sun, the extreme heat vaporizes ice particles on the comet聽and bits of debris break off, leaving a trail of dust in the comet鈥檚 wake. The meteors we see are those particles, most no larger than a pea, burning up in the atmosphere as Earth crosses Swift-Tuttle鈥檚 orbital path.听
How to See the Most Meteors
- The best way to view the shower is to get away from artificial light聽and let your eyes adjust for 20聽to聽30 minutes, according to NASA. Look to the northeast for , from which the Perseid meteor shower takes its name.听
- Avoid using flashlights while your eyes are adjusting. A telescope or binoculars are unnecessary聽and will limit your view of the sky, .听
- Meteors often come in clusters close together,聽and they fly by at about 133,000 miles per hour, so they can be easy to miss, . Be patient and keep an eye on the sky. The most meteors will be visible around 2 a.m. MDT.