Skywatchers can see the Perseid meteor shower peak on Wednesday, Aug. 12 – Thursday, Aug. 13. NASA says that the spectacle will begin just past midnight. The Perseid shower occurs as planet Earth passes through a stream of cosmic debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle.
“The Perseids, which peak during mid-August, are considered to be the best meteor shower of the year,” wrote NASA on its website. “With very fast and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long "wakes" of light and color behind them as they streak through the Earth's atmosphere.”
The color of the meteor depends on its chemical composition and speed. Sodium appears as orange-yellow, iron appears as yellow, magnesium appears as blue-green, calcium appears as violet, and nitrogen and oxygen appear as red.
“The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers (50-100 meteors seen per hour) and occurs with warm summer nighttime weather, allowing sky watchers to easily view the shower,” continued NASA.
The Perseids are known for their fireballs. Fireballs are meteors that have a magnitude of -3 or brighter. The Perseid shower was named after the constellation Perseus, its radiant. Perseus is the hero from Greek mythology, that beheaded Medusa, the Gorgon.
“Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them,” wrote NASA. “Every year the Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.”
