Annual Perseid meteor shower could put on quite a show this year

The Perseid Meteor Shower is caused by remnants of the Swift-Tuttle comet which orbits the sun every 133 years. The Perseid Meteor Shower is particularly spectacular this year as the Earth passes closer to the center of an old comet’s tail.

“Our models predict an outburst on August 11-12 with peak rates greater than 200 meteors per hour under ideally dark skies”, explained Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “Under flawless conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour”.

For people who live in areas with heavy clouds or light-polluted skies, a live broadcast of the Perseid meteor shower will be available via Ustream overnight on August 11-12 and August 12-13, beginning at 10 p.m. EDT. “These scattered specks of dust – a trail in the comet’s wake – are what flash as they enter the atmosphere at a mind-blowing 132,000 miles per hour and burn up”, according to a story from the Associated Press. The last Perseid outburst took place in 2009.

It’s time for the biggest light show of the year. These interactions create bursts of light when the small pieces dissolve into our atmosphere, creating the perseid meteors you see! Named because they seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus, this meteor shower will peak tonight Thursday August 11th through Friday August 12th. To get the best views, watchers will want to get a spot somewhere particularly dark and less polluted like in the suburbs or countryside. We see them as the Perseid Meteors. As Nasa points out, “At that speed, even a smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it collides with Earth’s atmosphere.”

NASA plans live stream broadcasts both Thursday and Friday nights starting at 10 p.m. EDT.

Hlynialuk says normally you can see about 90 meteors an hour but this year it could be twice that number.

Increased activity also may be seen Saturday morning.