The best meteor shower of the summer began this week, and astronomers expect it to be a great year to see the celestial event.
The Perseid meteor shower began on Sunday and lasts through September, with August 12 being the best day to see the shooting stars.
Skygazers can expect to see 100 to 150 stars per hour, which will be visible across the U.S. — but even more in an area free of light pollution.
The Perseid occurs every year when the Earth plows through the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle during its travels through the interior solar system.
The Perseids (photo from Slovenia) are considered the best meteor shower of the year. The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the meteor shower originate from Comet Swift-Tuttle
The Perseid meteor shower can be seen with the naked eye in areas with clear skies, low light pollution and an unobstructed view.
The best time to see the shower is when the sky is darkest, between 11pm and dawn.
To locate the meteor shower, viewers should look for the constellation Perseus, which is the 24th largest constellation in the sky.
The constellation is located in the northern region of the night sky.
There are apps to easily find the constellation including Night Sky and Sky Guide which reveals what the user sees by simply pointing the phone’s camera at the sky.
Perseid meteors travel at 133,200 miles per hour as they hit Earth’s atmosphere, and most become visible to viewers when they are about 60 miles from the surface.
The Perseid meteor shower originates from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which is 16 miles across and was first associated with the event by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1865.
The first Perseid meteors began streaking across the night sky on Sunday, but astronomers say it is expected to peak on August 12, but will be active until September 1. The name Perseid comes from the constellation Perseus, which is visible in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere
Perseid meteors travel at 133,200 miles per hour as they hit Earth’s atmosphere, and most become visible to viewers when they are about 60 miles from the surface. Pictured: The Perseid meteor seen over Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in 2018
The meteors are seen when Earth passes through the debris of ice and rock left behind when Comet Swift-Tuttle came within 84,000 miles of the planet in 1992 – the comet orbits Earth once every 133 years.
“Most other comets are much smaller, with nuclei only a few kilometers across,” according to Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.
“As a result, Comet Swift-Tuttle produces a large number of meteoroids, many of which are large enough to produce fireballs.”
Cooke recommended setting up to catch the fireballs somewhere dark, away from city lights or light pollution in general.
“While fireballs can be seen from urban areas,” Cooke said, “a much larger number of faint Perseids are only visible from the countryside.”
The name Perseid comes from the constellation Perseus, which is visible in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
“Perseus is a Greek mythological character,” Fiske Planetarium manager Francisco Salas told University of Colorado Boulder Today.
‘Perseus is the one who killed Medusa. When he cut off its head, that’s how he was able to kill the sea monster. And you know what happens when you see Medusa’s head? You turn into a rock.’
There have been other myths after Perseus which have found their way to be associated with the Perseid.
Like the constellation Perseus, the Perseid meteors are visible in all parts of the world, although they are best seen in the Northern Hemisphere.