The 2023 Perseid meteor shower peaks in America this weekend — here’s when, where and how to see hundreds of shooting stars
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One of the most beautiful celestial events of the year takes place this week, with up to 100 shooting stars visible every hour during the Perseid meteor shower.
Skywatchers in the US and Canada will be among those who can best enjoy the dazzling meteor shower, which occurs when Earth plows through the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle during its inland travels. solar system.
Described by NASA as a “fireball champion,” it will be visible both north and south of the equator, but the Northern Hemisphere offers the best views.
It peaks in North America from August 12 to 13 and remains visible until September 1.
Astronomers say the Perseids, like all meteor showers, are best viewed with the naked eye in areas with clear skies, little light pollution, little smog, and an expansive view of the sky. Here’s what you need to know if you want to make the most of it:
The Perseids (pictured from Slovenia) are considered the best meteor shower of the year. The bits of space debris interacting with our atmosphere to create the meteor shower come from the Swift-Tuttle comet
The meteors are called the Perseids because they seem to shoot out of Perseus, a constellation in the northern sky, itself named after the Greek mythological hero Perseus
When and how can I watch the Perseid meteor shower in the US and Canada?
Check the weather forecast before you set off.
The quality of the display we see during the peak of a meteor shower is determined by the weather and the moon.
Forecasters say people in the US and Canada will have good visibility this year as long as the sky is clear of light pollution and clouds.
If you’re in a place with less cloud cover, move to a dark place away from light. Find an area with a clear view of the sky, away from trees, streetlights, and buildings.
Experts say binoculars and telescopes aren’t necessary because they limit the size of the sky visible to you.
Be prepared: it can take your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the dark and looking at your cell phone can interfere with night vision.
The best time to see something in the night sky is when the sky is darkest and when the target is at the highest position in the sky.
For meteor showers, this usually occurs between midnight and the early hours of the morning.
This year, Earth will pass over the remnants of Comet Swift-Tuttle on August 13 at 4 a.m. ET and be visible from 10:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m.
Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can get the best views of this meteor shower during the early morning hours on August 13. Meteor activity will be elevated throughout the night
The Perseid meteor shower originates in the constellation Perseus. The Pleiades star cluster and the bright star Canopus created the constellation Carina
How many shooting stars will there be every hour during the Perseid meteor shower in 2023?
When a Perseid meteor shower begins, stargazers can only see about one meteor per hour.
However, once it peaks, that number will increase from 50-75, capping at 100 per hour.
The average number people will see in 2023 will vary significantly, NASA’s says Bill Cooke.
“People in the US can reasonably expect to see about 40 Perseids in the hour just before dawn on peak nights. That’s about one every few minutes, which isn’t bad.’
“However, we assume you are in the countryside, away from cities and suburbs.”
Where can I view the Perseid meteor shower and which countries have the best visibility?
Two of the best places to see the Perseids this year are along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States.
According to Dr Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Northern Hemisphere will have the best views worldwide.
“The radiant for the Perseids — the point in the sky where the meteors appear to be coming from — is in Perseus, and high in the northern hemisphere of the sky,” he said.
“It’s 58 degrees north of the celestial equator, which means it would be overhead from 58 degrees north latitude.”
“This also means that the radiant never rises for places south of 32 degrees south latitude, so the southernmost parts of Australia and much of Argentina and Chile.”
“The result is that the northern hemisphere has the best potential visibility because the radiant is higher in the sky and visible longer, so in theory more meteors are visible.”
For those in the US and Canada, national parks open after dark will predictably be one of the most incredible places to watch the Perseid meteor shower.
Known as the “Fiery Tears of Saint Lawrence,” the celestial event occurs as Earth plows through galactic debris left behind by the passing of the Swift-Tuttle Comet
How fast do the Perseid meteors travel and how big are they?
A typical Perseid meteoroid moves at 133,200 mph (214,365 km/h) when it hits Earth’s atmosphere.
At this point it becomes a meteor. If it hit the ground it would be called a meteorite, but almost none of the Perseid fragments do because they are the size of a grain of sand.
Most fragments are visible when they are about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the Earth’s surface.
Meteors can travel at speeds of 44 miles per second, and the size of a meteor doesn’t make any difference.
The Perseid meteor shower is the only meteor shower to delay a Space Shuttle launch – the NASA-STS-51 was delayed in 1993 due to concerns about damage to the spacecraft.
Why is it called the Perseid meteor shower?
The name Perseids comes from the constellation Perseuswhich is visible in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
“Perseus is a mythological Greek character,” says Fiske Planetarium Manager Francisco ‘Tito’ Salas.
“Perseus is the one who killed Medusa. When he cut off her head, he was able to kill the sea monster. And do you know what happens when you see Medusa’s head? You turn into a stone.’
There have been other myths that followed Perseus that have found their way to being connected to the Perseids.
According to a myth, Perseus married Andromeda and they had nine children together.
The connection? Perseids is derived from the Greek word Perseides, which refers to the descendants of Perseus.
Like the constellation Perseus, the Perseids are visible in all parts of the world, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere.
The constellation Perseus is at the center of a triangle formed by the W- or M-shaped constellation Cassiopeia, the Pleiades star cluster, and the bright star Canopus.
Together it all creates the constellation Carina.
What is the Swift-Tuttle comet?
The bits of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Perseid meteor shower come from the Swift-Tuttle comet.
Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli realized in 1865 that this comet was the source of the Perseids.
Comet Swift-Tuttle was independently discovered in 1862 by both Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle.
Swift-Tuttle is a large comet – its core is 26 kilometers in diameter – and it last passed Earth in 1992.
When will the next meteor shower be?
The next big meteor shower will be the Orionswhich starts on September 26 and ends on November 22.
It is a medium strength storm that has produced less dramatic displays than the Perseids in recent years.
It will peak on October 20-21.