The Perseids meteor shower continues to be the most pop in the Northern Hemisphere as it peaks in the warmth of August . It is also the most active in this period and one of the most active across the year , consistently give birth spectacle . The flower is encounter the night between August 11 and August 12 , with a Moon that is almost midway to full . Not ideal , but good enough for a courteous show .
At its peak at14:00 UTC , the shower bath will produce100 meteors per hour – but around it , you’re able to see a meteoroid every second or so . If the atmospheric condition is not peachy , think of that the shower will go on until August 24 . However , as the Moon wax into fullness , the spectacles will get knockout to see .
This is not the only meteor shower happening at the moment , though : Weaker showers are also active decent now , such as the Alpha Capricornids , the Southern Delta Aquariids , and the Kappa Cygnids . The Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquariids actuallypeak at the same timeat the end of July .
If you want to be specific , there are ways to narrate if you have seen a Perseid meteor . First of all , they tend to be faster than the others . you may also attempt to play out the radiant : Perseids be given to face like they glow out from the constellation of Perseus , so if you need to find them , bump the constellation is a good step . The constellation is towards the North East . Remember to leave metre to allow your eyes adjust to the darkness ( phone in your pocket please ! ) .
Meteors have been call shooting headliner , but have very little to do with stellar objects . They are the leftover grain of dust and ice that comets and asteroids crossing the Earth ’s orbit have leave behind . This swarm has a variable density , so some years the spectacle is better than others – 2016 had a fantastic peak of 150 meteors per hour .
The celestial perpetrator of the Perseids is none other than the periodic comet Swift - Tuttle . It gets cheeseparing to the Sun every 133 years , and as it gets close it loses debris as farseeing tails . When the debris is trance by our planet and burns through the atmosphere , we call it a meteor . There is spate of Comet Swift - Tuttle to go around – the comet is 26 kilometers ( 16.16 miles ) widely . On its next passage in 2126 , it will bebrightly visibleto the bare centre from Earth .
The Perseids have been talked about for hundreds of years , becoming a spiritual symbol , poetic discussion , and a much - prognosticate spectacle for the lovers of the night sky .
