This year’s Perseid meteor shower is set to be a good one, and it’ll reach its peak this coming weekend. Here’s what you need to know about the Perseids and the best way for you to catch this dazzling display.
The most anticipated meteor shower of the year is upon us: the Perseids. This year’s event promises to be a particularly good one, with NASA’s All Sky Fireball Network already detecting the early entrants from this meteor cluster. Traces of the Perseids started to grace our atmosphere as early as late July.
The shower began on July 14, and will continue until September 1, but the peak of the shower will occur on August 13 and 14, as reported by 7 News. Australians won’t get as good a glimpse of the show as people in the Northern Hemisphere, and people in the Northern states of Australia will have a much better viewing opportunity than those in the south.
In Broome (WA) and Port Hedland (WA), it’s expected that up to 100 meteors per hour will be visible, according to Time and Date. Good visibility is also expected for Geraldton (WA), Alice Springs (NT), Katherine (NT), Darwin (NT), Coffs Harbour (NSW), Byron Bay (NSW), the Gold Coast (QLD), Brisbane (QLD), and the Sunshine Coast (QLD).
The Perseids may sound exotic, but this annual spectacle comes from a familiar source: comets. Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the debris and dust left behind by these dirty snowballs. For the Perseids, we have Comet Swift-Tuttle to thank. As our planet travels through its wake, tiny pieces of debris collide with our atmosphere, burning up and creating the streaks of light we see from the ground. Discovered independently by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle in 1862, the comet orbits our Sun roughly every 133 years.
The Northern Hemisphere is the prime location to witness the Perseids. As per EarthSky’s recommendation, the best time to watch is in the hours preceding dawn. You may also want to head away from the city to escape light pollution.
While the meteors will streak across the entire sky if you look to the North, they tend to radiate from the constellation Perseus (hence the name “Perseids”). There’s no need, however, to focus on a particular spot; just lie back and enjoy the view.
Whether you’re an avid stargazer or simply curious, this celestial event is one you won’t want to miss. So, grab a lounge chair, flee to a dark spot, and watch cometary debris blaze through the atmosphere.