Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
This year, the Perseid meteor shower promises to be even more spectacular than usual, with experts suggesting that up to 150 meteors every hour could be visible at peak time in the next few days.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.If the weather is not good in your location or you’d like to learn more about the phenomenon, the Slooh community observatory is running a webcast Thursday, August 11, at 8:00 pm EDT (5pm PDT). The 4-hour broadcast will show a view of the sky from the UK, US, Canada, and the Canary Islands.
The show will cover the history and science of the famous meteor shower as well as the tricks to see them and photograph them throughout August. The Perseids are the fragments left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, a dangerous comet that comes close to Earth every 133 years. This year, we are crossing a particularly dense region of comet dust, hence the increase in meteor activity.
“With December's Geminids spoiled by a full Moon, these Perseids will be the best shower of 2016,” said Slooh astronomer Bob Berman. “Add to that the juicy peril of its parent comet, Swift-Tuttle, the most hazardous object in the known universe, and you have all the ingredients for a 4-star spectacle.”
You can watch the live stream below.
You can go to Slooh.com to join and watch this live broadcast, snap and share your own photos during the event, chat with audience members and interact with the hosts, and personally, control Slooh’s telescopes.
