A highlight of most meteorite hunters and skywatchers each year, the Perseid meteor shower displays an increasing number of visible and desired rocks for several weeks during the summer. The annual rain will begin tonight – read on to find out the best way to see the space phenomenon.
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Characterized by a small, rocky or metallic body, meteorites are much smaller than asteroids and range in size from tiny grains to one-meter-wide bodies.
However, the Perseid meteor shower is known for being colorful and displaying equally bright trails of light, although it is particularly special, counting up to 100 boulders per hour, although you can see around 50.
What is a Perseid meteor shower?
The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for over 2,000 years and occurs as Earth passes through the orbit of comet Swift Tuttle.
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When comets orbit close to the Sun, they heat up, causing parts of them to break apart.
The Royal Museum of Greenwich (RMG) said that if debris (meteorites) fell on Earth’s path around the Sun, it could infiltrate our atmosphere at speeds of 11 to 70 kilometers per second.
However, the exact speed at which a meteorite enters the atmosphere will depend on the combined speed of Earth and the debris itself.
RMG said: “The average speed of a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second, and the air in front of the meteor is crushed and heated to thousands of degrees Celsius.
And she continued: “Smaller meteorites evaporate and leave behind a trail of bright light”, while “larger meteorites can explode in the form of fireballs”.
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If cloudy and rainy conditions are expected where you are, you can travel to a new location where the weather is set to get clearer or leave on a different day. After all, the rains should continue in the coming weeks.
Another tip is to try to reduce the amount of light pollution in your field of vision.
Go to the countryside, a park or any other vast expanse for a better view. Royal Museums Greenwich suggests doing something as simple as turning your back on street lamps to watch if you can’t travel.
RMG said: “Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adapt to the darkness so you can catch more faint meteors – that means you shouldn’t be looking at your phone!
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“Meteorites can appear anywhere in the sky, so the more you see the sky, the better.”
Try to find an area away from trees and buildings and a clearer view of the horizon – but don’t worry about bringing binoculars and telescopes. This will limit the amount of sky you can see.
Go out when the sky is darkest and for meteor shots in particular, any time between midnight and the wee hours of the morning is the best time to do so.
However, with Perseid, it can also be visible in the early evening, as soon as the sun sets due to its glow above the horizon.
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