Considered by many as one of the best astronomical events of the year, the Perseids will be visible this August weekend. This spectacular meteor shower will grace the skies months after its “sisters” – the Lyrids and the Eta Aquarids – did the same.
The Perseids are known worldwide for providing a spectacular show to nighttime sky observers, and this year will be no exception. “If you’re going to watch any meteor shower this year, this is the one to see,” said Bill Cooke, the director of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, to Business Insider.
Meteor showers, commonly known as “shooting stars” in Spain, are composed of bits of rock, ice, and dust that break away from comets or asteroids orbiting the Solar System.
As Earth moves around the Sun, it intersects with clouds of space dust containing these particles, which then enter Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate due to friction.
In the case of the Perseids, around this time of year, Earth passes through a cloud of space dust containing remnants of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which was last visible from Earth in 1992. While we won’t see the comet itself again until the year 2125, its remnants create the spectacular Perseid meteor shower every August.
The Perseids can be perfectly observed throughout the northern hemisphere on the night of Saturday, August 12, to Sunday, August 13, their peak activity time. According to NASA’s estimates, the Perseids could produce up to 100 meteors per hour under optimal conditions and will remain visible until September 1, although with a much lower frequency.
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