Perseid Meteor Shower 2023: The Perseid meteor shower, considered to be the best meteor shower of the year, has started peaking. This year, the meteor showers will be extremely bright because unlike last year, the Moon will be a waning crescent, and will allow even some of the fainter meteors to be seen. Every year, the Perseids occur between July 17 and August 24, but tend to peak anytime between August 9 and 13.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth runs into the debris field left behind by icy comets or rocky asteroids travelling around the Sun. When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
The Perseids are made of small space debris from comet 109P, also known as the Swift-Tuttle comet. These meteor showers are named after the constellation Perseus because the radiant, or the direction from which the Perseids appear to come in the sky, is located in the same direction as the constellation. When the Perseids peak, one can see 60 to 100 meteors an hour from a dark place. This year, up to 100 meteors per hour can be seen in India during the peak of the Perseids, according to timeanddate.com.
The Perseids started to peak from around 8:30 pm IST on August 13, and will appear bright till 5:30 am IST on August 14.
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How to observe the Perseids
People living in the Northern Hemisphere get the best view of the Perseid meteor shower every year.
In order to enjoy the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, one does not require any special equipment. All they need to do is go to an open place which is devoid of light pollution, because this will ensure that the sky is clear.
After reaching the chosen venue, the person must wait for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness. Next, they must look at the sky in the direction of the radiant, because that is where the Perseids will be seen originating.
Stargazers who do not have access to a location free from light pollution can watch the marvellous spectacle online. People who are interested in watching the Perseids can click on the YouTube video embedded below.
Interesting facts about Perseids
An interesting fact about the Perseids is that they are the only meteor shower to delay a Space Shuttle launch. In 1993, the Perseid meteor shower activity was forecast to be extremely heavy. As a result there were high chances of a spacecraft in Earth orbit being damaged by a piece of debris of the Perseids. Therefore, the launch of the NASA STS-51 was delayed.
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli realised in 1865 that the Swift-Tuttle comet was the source of the Perseids. Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the Sun once, last visited the solar system in 1992.
The Swift-Tuttle comet will not be visible to people on Earth until 2125.
In 1862, American astronomers Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle discovered comet Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle is a large comet, with a nucleus 26 kilometres across.
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During the peak of the Perseids, one may spot 60 to 100 meteors per hour. The velocity of the meteors is 59 kilometres per second.
The swift and bright meteors frequently leave long "wakes" of light and colour behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. Since the Perseids occur at a time when the summer nights are warm, sky watchers can comfortably view the meteor shower.
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Perseids are also known for their fireballs, which are large explosions of light and colour that can persist longer than an average meteor streak.