Tue, May 22 2012

Meteor shower for the Earth tonight

Tue, Aug 12 2008 19:20 CET 1177 Views

Stars will be raining tonight and on the night of August 13, scientists have promised.

The Perseid meteor shower takes place when Earth enters the outskirts of a cloud of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle. The comet dust enters earth atmosphere, heats to luminosity and gives the impression of falling stars. Depending on their chemical composition, the meteors burn in different colours. Rarely do such meteors reach the Earth surface.

The actual beginning of the shower is in mid-July, but its peak is around August 12 and dozens to hundred of meteors per hour can be seen.

The best place to observe the shower is outside cities or in the mountains, especially when there is no moon.

Perseid meteor shower is one of the most beautiful ones to be observed in the Earth's northern hemisphere; it appears every year.

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