NASA
2015 Perseids meteor shower
Get ready for an extra-special meteor shower tomorrow night, as the annual Perseids spectacle lights up the sky.
Each August, the Earth passes through a cloud of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, prompting ice and dust to burn up in the atmosphere.
According to NASA, some 160 to 200 meteors will rain down each hour tonight and tomorrow night during Perseids’ peak, though not all will be easy to spot.
Vedran Strelar
Photo for illustrative purposes only.
Those who wish to enjoy the show in Qatar will want to stay up late tomorrow night, advised Jassim Lari, co-founder of the Qatar Astronomy Club.
Speaking to Doha News, he said the shower will peak at midnight Friday, Aug. 13 and go until about 4:40 am Saturday morning.
He added, “After the moon has set around 1am Saturday early morning, the observer can expect to see more than 40 meteors per hour. This is of course in ideal conditions.”
Special conditions
The annual Perseids spectacle got its name because the stars appear to fly out of the constellation Perseus.
According to astronomers, what is usually seen as a shower could turn into a “hurricane” this year thanks to Jupiter’s intense gravity.
Bilal Randaree/Flickr
Photo for illustrative purposes only.
However, experts have warned that our our own satellite – the moon – will be in a bright phase, which will make it harder to observe the sharp but short-lived bursts of meteors exploding.
For those who wish to tune in remotely, NASA will begin live-streaming the show on its website tonight.
Viewing advice
People can also head to any dark location in Qatar for observation, Lari said.
But he added that the best spots will be in the northern part of the country because this is where the radiant is, or the point in the sky where the meteors will appear to originate from.
In a statement, NASA’s meteroid expert Bill Cooke said:
“The meteors you’ll see this year are from comet flybys that occurred hundreds if not thousands of years ago. And they’ve travelled billions of miles before their kamikaze run into Earth’s atmosphere.”
However, there is no risk to our planet and no telescope or special equipment is needed, he added.
The Perseids occurs every August, but the next mega-outburst isn’t predicted to take place until Aug. 12, 2028.
It will feature the dust trail produced by the comet during its 1479 passage.
Thoughts?
(The post How to watch the annual Perseids shooting star show in Qatar is from Doha News.)