Heads Up! The Perseid Meteor Shower. Traditionally, the biggest one of the year is coming up next week in its annual visit on August 12th and 13th.
Traveling at 37 miles per second, the Perseid Meteor shower has some added bonuses this year. With the combination of the Moon now in its darkest phase of the month and a high predicted peak rate (70-100 meteors an hour), this year’s show should be great. The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere.
Its also noted as the fireball champion of meteor showers. It produces more fireballs than any other meteor shower. This is likely due to the size of the comet, Swift-Tuttle, that produced them. Get this! This comet has a nucleus nearly 16 miles in diameter. Most other comets are only around a mile wide. The bigger the comet, apparently, the bigger the mess it leaves behind.
If you happened to be one of the lucky ones to capture it on camera, don’t hesitate to send it to our website! We would love to share it with our viewers. Happy viewing!!!