{"id":19290,"date":"2016-08-10T20:16:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T12:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/must-see-perseid-meteor-shower-should-pack-an-extra-punch-this-week\/"},"modified":"2016-08-10T20:16:26","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T12:16:26","slug":"must-see-perseid-meteor-shower-should-pack-an-extra-punch-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/must-see-perseid-meteor-shower-should-pack-an-extra-punch-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Must-see Perseid meteor shower should pack an extra punch this week"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_266866\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-266866\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-266866\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160810-perseid-nasa-630x472.jpg\" alt=\"Perseid meteor shower\" width=\"630\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160810-perseid-nasa-630x472.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/160810-perseid-nasa.jpg 631w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-266866\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A composite view from an all-sky camera in Chickamauga, Ga., shows Perseid meteors flashing on the night of Aug. 11, 2010. (Credit: NASA \/ MSFC \/ Meteoroid Environment Office)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>August\u2019s Perseid meteor shower is always one of the most accessible sky spectaculars of the year, but this year\u2019s show is expected to be even more spectacular than usual.<\/p>\n<p>The meteoric display is due to reach its peak on Thursday night, heading into Friday morning. But you should be able to see shooting stars all this week, assuming the skies are clear. The best time is after moonset, which occurs around 1 a.m. on the peak night.<\/p>\n<p>The Perseids pop up every year, reaching their height around Aug. 11-13. That\u2019s when Earth passes through a stream of cosmic grit left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. When those flecks of grit streak through the upper atmosphere, they ionize the surrounding air and create the flashes we know and love.<\/p>\n<p>The flashes appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus, which gives the meteor shower its name.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Perseid Meteor Shower, August, 2016 -- Griffith Observatory Sky Report\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Bi5ePyOUyls?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On a great night, under peak viewing conditions, skywatchers can typically see 60 to 90 Perseids per hour. But astronomers say this year\u2019s viewing rate could be even higher. That\u2019s because Jupiter\u2019s gravitational pull perturbed the broad ring of grit back in 2014, pushing more of the particles in Earth\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"callout clearfix\">Viewing guide:&nbsp;Top five places for Seattle skywatchers to see the meteor show<\/h4>\n<p>This is the year when our planet is due to pass through what\u2019s thought to be the piled-up stream of particles. According to Sky &amp; Telescope, French meteor specialist Jeremie Vaubaillon estimates that the heightened peak should come around 10 p.m. PT Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p>Projections by Vaubaillon, Russia\u2019s Mikhail Maslov and Finland\u2019s Esko Lyytinen suggest that the peak rate could surpass 100 meteors per hour. \u201cUnder perfect conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour,\u201d said Bill Cooke of NASA\u2019s Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>Those figures apply only for peak conditions, however: Your mileage may vary. Speaking of mileage, you should get away from the glare of city lights to maximize your meteor experience. Check out our list of top five places for Seattle skywatchers to see the show.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few other viewing tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bring a lounge chair, blanket or sleeping bag and find a comfortable position for looking up into the night sky. Although Perseids seem to radiate from Perseus, they can appear anywhere in the heavens.<\/li>\n<li>Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the dark, and don\u2019t expect to see fireworks. Don\u2019t gaze into the glare of your smartphone if you can help it. Bring a flashlight so you can walk safely to your viewing spot, but be mindful of others.<\/li>\n<li>Consider taking along snacks and a thermos of coffee or some other energizing beverage to keep you alert during the pre-dawn hours.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fortunately, the weather forecast for the Seattle area calls for clear skies on Thursday and Friday. But if you are clouded out, you can still get your meteor fix via NASA\u2019s video coverage on Ustream, starting at 7 p.m. PT Thursday and Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The Slooh community observatory will present a four-hour webcast about the Perseids starting at 5 p.m. PT Thursday. The program will feature live streams from the Canary Islands, Britain, Canada and Connecticut. There\u2019ll be a follow-up Slooh show at 6 a.m. PT Friday, with extended coverage from Weathernews Japan.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceWeather.com is already getting some great Perseid pictures, including one snapshot that shows a meteor cloud hanging over New Hampshire. You can expect more to come as we pass through the peak.<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of more to come, the Perseids will be followed by the Draconids and Orionids in November, the Taurids and the Leonids in November, and the Geminids in December. So be careful when you take in this week\u2019s meteor show: You might just get hooked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A composite view from an all-sky camera in Chickamauga, Ga., shows Perseid meteors flashing on the night of Aug. 11, 2010. (Credit: NASA \/ MSFC \/ Meteoroid Environment Office) August\u2019s Perseid meteor shower is always one of the most accessible sky spectaculars of the year, but this year\u2019s show is expected to be even more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4919,4732,4378],"class_list":["post-19290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-meteor-showers","tag-perseids","tag-skywatching"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}