Now is the time for stargazers to pull out their chairs and prepare for one of the most stunning meteor shower displays of the year.
The meteor shower known as the Perseids is expected to peak tonight, August 12, although their activity has been going on since mid-July and will continue to be seen for several more weeks.
This annual phenomenon, most visible in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs when debris from an ancient comet burns up in Earth's atmosphere.
“Every year, Earth passes through the debris left behind by the ancient celestial body, Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which is believed to be older than Earth itself, over 5 billion years,” explains Dr. Richard Parker, an astrophysicist at the University of Sheffield.
He points out that this comet visits the inner solar system every 133 years and is expected to be close to Earth again in 2126.
"The special thing about this comet is that it is the largest object to come close to Earth, but fortunately it is not expected to come very close for thousands of years," he adds.
The Perseids are caused precisely by the debris that the comet left behind in space.
“From Earth, the meteors appear to come from the same part of the sky every year, from the constellation Perseus, hence their name,” explains Dr. Ed Bloomer, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
To have the best chance of seeing the meteor shower, he recommends looking slightly east-southeast, towards the planet Saturn, or further north, towards the constellation Ursa Major.
“Look a little to the side of the Perseids, out of the corner of your eye, because the meteors often appear on the periphery and are most visible in low light,” he says.
However, since the peak of the meteor shower falls a few days after the full moon, the fainter meteors may be difficult to spot this year.
Experts recommend going to dark places, waiting up to 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust, and being patient, as meteors only appear for a few seconds.
"It's not something you can show someone and have them look at it at exactly the same time. It's a more personal and quiet experience, where you just have to be present and look at the sky," Bloomer concludes.
The best hours to see them are from 11:00 PM to around 4:00 AM, when the sky is darkest and the stars are most clearly visible. In Europe, countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Scandinavia are among the most favorable for viewing this natural phenomenon today.
In Albania, the best places to see the Perseid meteor shower are those with the least amount of urban lighting, where the sky appears clearer. Such places could be the Lura National Park, Lalzi Bay, the surroundings of Berat or Gjirokastra, the area near Lake Shkodra, in a spot with little artificial light.
If you are in any of these places, especially at midnight and into the early morning of August 13, you will have a very good chance of seeing this magical natural spectacle.
Source: The Guardian
