So…are you ready for the Perseid meteor shower?
What do you need to see shooting stars? A telescope? Binoculars? Fancy star charts with a glowing red flashlight?
Actually, no fancy equipment is needed. If you are excited about seeing the Perseids this weekend, just head outside once it’s dark and bring a blanket to lie on to stay comfortable. The best viewing configuration is to lie flat on your back in a clearing where most of the sky is visible. Early Sunday morning (~2-4 am August 12, 2007) is supposed to be the time with the highest amounts of meteors seen.
You may be surprised to know that these so-called “shooting stars” or “falling stars” are not stars at all, and not even pieces of stars, which many people believe. Meteors are streaks of light created when small pieces of ice or dust/rock from space burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere as they head toward the Earth’s surface.
But the Earth is not passive. It’s not so much that pieces of space dirt are falling to Earth, but rather the Earth is plowing through the debris much like a car driving through a rain squall. This Saturday the Earth will make its annual trip through the icy dust tail that comet Swift-Tuttle left behind when it streaked past Earth in 1862. That’s over 145 years ago – which is relatively recent in astronomical terms.
If you’re truly a beginning star-gazer, then lying on your back for an hour or two around 3am will guarantee that you see some meteors, maybe even dozens this weekend. If you have some experience with star charts, then bring them and look for the constellation Perseus because *that’s* where the meteors will appear to be coming from.
Or if you prefer to star-hop from the constellation Cassiopeia (the one that looks like a big W on the sky), then look between Cassiopeia and the horizon in the predawn sky and that’s where the meteors will be emerging. Here’s another link to Sky and Telescope’s page for a handy finder chart.
Don’t forget something to bring a friend, binoculars so you can look at everything else in the night sky while you’re waiting for meteors, and something to keep the mosquitoes away.
