Don’t miss out on the peak night of the Perseid meteor shower on August 11/12. These swift-moving meteors start to streak across the nighttime sky by mid to late evening. As evening deepens into late night, the number of meteors starts to increase. But the intensity picks up all the more after midnight, and the greatest numbers of meteors typically bombard the sky in the dark hours just before dawn. At mid-northern latitudes, you may see as many as 50 Perseid meteors per hour.
Appreciably south of the equator, the count will be less – perhaps 10 to 15 meteors per hour. Also, at southerly latitudes, the first Perseids probably won’t appear until midnight or the wee hours of the morning. That’s because the constellation Perseus – the radiant point for the Perseid meteors – is a far northern constellation. Perseus rises earlier in the evening and climbs higher in the sky at northerly latitudes.
When is Mira, the Wonderful, the famous variable star, visible?
Why are meteor showers often better after midnight and best before dawn? One way to think about it is this. The shower’s radiant point – the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to radiate – needs to be above your horizon before you can see the most meteors. Today’s chart shows the radiant point of the Perseid meteor shower – in the constellation Perseus the Hero – ascending in the northeast by about midnight and highest in the sky before dawn. The Perseid meteor shower is named for this constellation.
Do you have to be able to identify the radiant point, or the constellation Perseus, to see the meteors? No. The meteors will appear in all parts of the sky – especially between midnight and dawn on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. If – just for fun – you do want to spot Perseus, look first for the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. The constellation Perseus is faint, but Cassiopeia is noticeable and can help you find it. If you do see a Perseid meteor, and trace its path backward, you will find that it radiated from a point in the sky within the boundaries of the constellation Perseus.
Double Cluster in Perseus: Two star clusters
The moon, Venus and Jupiter rank as the three brightest celestial bodies, respectively, after the sun
Many people look forward each summer to the Perseids. It’s a great time to go camping. This shower always peaks around this time of year, and in years when the moon is out of the sky, it reliably produces 50 or more meteors per hour at its peak at northerly latitudes, or an average of about one a minute. Fortunately, the rather thin waning crescent moon in the predawn hours won’t really intrude too greatly on the 2012 Perseid shower. Instead, the moon will enhance the show, guiding your eye to the sky’s two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, and to the constellation Orion in your eastern sky. If you live in Indonesia, you may even see the moon occult – cover over – Jupiter before sunrise on Sunday, August 12.
Orion the Hunter and Sirius the Dog Star
August 2012 guide to the five visible planets
Find a dark, open spot away from pesky artificial lights, sprawl out comfortably on a reclining lawn chair and enjoy the peak night of the Perseid shower. The meteors will fall most abundantly – from anyplace worldwide – from about 2 a.m. until dawn on Sunday, August 12.
