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514 days ago
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Category: Science Discovery Environment |
We're talking about the Perseid meteor shower, the most reliable and one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, and it peaks Saturday night/Sunday morning, with experts predicting 60 to 100 meteors per hour.
A meteor shower is nothing more than bits of debris from a comet that burn up as they zip through the Earth's atmosphere — the Perseid meteors are debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
"The Perseids are a steady performer," said Michael Bakich, senior editor of Astronomy magazine. "Comets have different densities and leave different kinds of trails. Swift-Tuttle left a rich stream in its wake, and every year at this time we pass through it."
As a general rule, the best time to watch meteors is in the early pre-dawn hours, but some Perseids will be visible before midnight.
"You can see them all night, starting at sunset," Bakich said. "The reason meteor showers are better after midnight is we're facing into the direction we're moving around the sun, so we're running into the particles. They don't have to catch up with us.
"Many Perseids do catch up with us, so evening hours are good, too. But, without necessarily recommending early morning hours, I'll just say early morning is better."
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