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| Pic taken in CT in 2010 by my friend Al Chaniewski |
The Perseid meteor
shower peaks early Thursday morning and you can watch it right here in
Connecticut. All you have to do is look up!!
This is a great year
for the annual display because the peak of the meteor shower coincides with an
almost new moon (the opposite of a full moon).
That means less light pollution in the sky and more darkness to help
find “shooting stars”.
The Perseid meteor shower is really just debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle which has been orbiting the sun for centuries. As debris collides with the earth’s atmosphere at 140,000 mph, the debris heats up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat causes the long lived streaks you see in the sky. On a good night you can see one meteor a minute.
Time: After midnight – before sunrise Thursday.
The Perseid meteor shower is really just debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle which has been orbiting the sun for centuries. As debris collides with the earth’s atmosphere at 140,000 mph, the debris heats up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat causes the long lived streaks you see in the sky. On a good night you can see one meteor a minute.
Time: After midnight – before sunrise Thursday.
Where: Away from city lights. Although meteors will appear to originate
from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, you can see them just
by looking up!
How Many: 50-100
meteors an hour
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