Considered as the "Old Faithful" of cosmic sky shows, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak this week. Almost 100 shooting stars will light up the skies, which can be seen with your own eyes or cameras. The better-than-average view of the Perseids will be also made possible by the gravity assistance of the planet Jupiter.
This 2015 will be a good year to see the Perseid meteor shower. According to Space.com, the Perseids will peak in the overnight hours of Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 12 and 13), a day before the new moon. Fortunately, the shooting stars can be observed by the naked eyes this year unlike in 2014 where a vivid full moon dulled all the brightest meteors.
Almost all meteor showers are derived from comets just like the Perseids meteor shower, which is made of pieces of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the first comet discovered in 1862 that takes a century and 33 years to make a single journey around the sun. The comet was last visibly seen in the night sky in 1992 and won't return until 2126.
As it reaches its peak, the Perseid meteor shower will grace the skies when Earth tills into a stream of fragments left behind by a comet. These particles, with sizes that range from sand grains to boulders, will slam into the atmosphere at speeds of 100,000 miles per hour. The passage can cause exceptionally bright meteors known as bolides or fireballs.
Moreover, these speeds will be causing the meteors to burn up in the upper atmosphere and will creat a momentary streak across the overhead skies called a "shooting star," National Geographic has learned.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak at twilight and will appear to glow from the shower's namesake constellation Perseus, which rises after local midnight in the northeastern skies. Typically, about 60 to 100 shooting stars will light up the skies per hour if sky conditions are dark.
The Perseid meteor shower is an annual stargazing ritual that dates back 2,000 years, Bustle noted. And the best place to see the Perseids is from a dark site away from city lights, with a clear unobstructed view of the overhead sky. High-powered views of telescopes or binoculars are also unnecessary since unaided eyes are best because meteors can soak in the entire sky.
So, will many wishes finally come true as the ethereal Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak this week?
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