Monday, August 10, 2009

Heavenly Light Show This Week

Perseid Meteor Shower
Monday - Thursday

According to the National Geographic this annual meteor shower will have to compete with a bright moon but nonetheless should provide some spectacular viewing.

From any vantage point in the world you might see as many as 80 meteors per hour as bits of debris from the 2,000 year old comet Swift-Tuttle collide with the Earth's atmosphere at over 23 miles per second. The meteor generally is incinerated which creates the super heated glowing air we call shooting stars.

To get the best seat for viewing this spectacular show you need to get away from the bright city lights and if the weather co-operates set a blanket out on the ground and lie down looking upwards (of course). Take in as much of the sky as you can and look towards the northeast as this is where the meteors will appear to originate from in the area of the constellation Perseus, and will then shoot off in all directions.


Bill Cooke the lead for NASA's Meteroid Environments Office describes the Perseid sky show as 'always the best annual meteor shower'.


Late Tuesday night and into the wee hours of Wednesday morning promise to offer the best viewing, of course the clouds will have to co-operate no matter where you happen to be.

If you are able, try to view this annual event, as the heavenly shows are always much better than anything on the television or the net for that matter.

allvoices

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