Perseid's Meteor Shower II

Heide Observatory

Hawthorn Hollow Nature

Astronomy fans wait all year for the Perseid meteor shower in August. At its peak, it consistently produces dozens of shooting stars per hour, making it one of the most spectacular and reliable meteor showers visible from Earth.As a comet travels close to the Sun, it heats up and part of the comet vaporizes. After a comet has orbited the Sun many times, a lot of small pieces of the comet are left along the comet&#x27;s path. A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet. When this happens, the bits of comet debris, most no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth&#x27;s atmosphere. Bits of debris that enter the Earth&#x27;s atmosphere are called meteors. On any night, there are several small meteors that shoot across the sky. However, during a meteor shower, tens to hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour. Many of these meteor showers can be predicted and occur at the same time each year. In August, Earth passes through the tail of the comet Swift-Tuttle on an annual basis known as the Perseid Meteor Shower. While many meteor showers produce just a handful of visible shooting stars per hour, the Perseids peak at 60 to 150 meteors most years. They&#x27;re named for Perseus, the constellation the meteors appear to originate from, but you&#x27;ll be able to spot them throughout the night sky.This year, the Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak on the nights of Thursday, August 12, and Friday, August 13. In recent years, the moon has made it difficult to view the shower, but that won&#x27;t be the case in 2021. The Perseids&#x27; peak comes just a few days after a new moon. On August 12 and 13, a dim waxing crescent moon will set early in the evening, leaving dark skies and perfect stargazing conditions. You can expect to see up to 100 shooting stars per hour on these nights.Reserve your tickets for The Schoolyard Observatory Perseids Meteor shower event and enjoy a relaxing display of the meteors as you lay back in our zero gravity chairs. Tickets for this event go fast so reserve yours today. Any questions? Contact us at Observatory@hawthornhollow.org

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Perseid's Meteor Shower II

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Perseid's Meteor Shower II

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