Here they come: Perseid meteor shower

William Atkins
Friday, 31 July 2009 19:41

Science - Space

Perseus and the Moon will both be low in the northern sky. The Moon will interfere with you the least when seeing the “earth grazing” meteors from about 9 to 11 p.m. (your) local time.

Dr. Cooke explains, "Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond."

And, "They are long, slow and colorful—among the most beautiful of meteors." [NASA]

Most of the dust in the Comet Swift-Tuttle is about one thousand years old.

However, some relatively young dust is also in the stream that was ejected from the comet in 1862.

For additional on the Perseus meteor shower, go to:

EarthSky.org’s Meteor Shower Guide for 2009

MeteorShowerOnline.com’s Perseids: Oberving the Perseids

For an animation of the meteor shower event, go to ShadowAndSubstance.com.