The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most popular meteor showers of the year, and it will be bringing its light shows to the night sky for a significant part of August.
NASA suggests that enthusiasts of the cosmic “fireworks” should be watching the skies these nights, as you wouldn’t want to miss such an impressive event.
The Perseid meteor shower remains active until August 24, but the events will culminate on the night of August 11 and the morning of August 12.
NASA also added that the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13 would be great for skywatching.
According to the Royal Astronomical Society, the meteors “are best viewed from the northern hemisphere, and in ideal conditions with no clouds observers could see up to 50 an hour.”
The Perseids are reputable thanks to their reliability and the possibility of producing amazing fireballs.
The amount of shooting stars one can observe depends on cloud cover, light pollution and geological location.
NASA says that if you are out in the country in the United States in an area without clouds, you can see up to 40 Perseids each hour before dawn on peak nights.
On July 26, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center published an image of a persistent Perseid meteor captured by a camera of the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona.
Last night, our meteor-tracking cameras at Mount Lemmon Observatory spotted their first Perseid of 2021!
The Perseids are set to peak in mid-August—stay tuned for more skywatching updates! pic.twitter.com/ScS2Msyz83
— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) July 26, 2021
The fireballs appear when bits of comet debris enter the atmosphere, leading to long, bright streaks that are extremely pleasant to watch from Earth.
Get ready to gaze into the night sky!
