[ad_1]
If you can catch only one meteor shower this year, it should be the Perseids. They cross the sky at this moment, and will culminate during the night of August 11th to 12th and August 12th to 13th. Whether you can see it in Tucson depends on the weather, of course, but all the signs indicate a spectacular spectacle during peak dates, as the moon will only be a thin crescent ribbon.
Normally, the Perseids produce about 60 to 70 meteors per hour, and they are usually rich in fireballs. In the years of overflow, as in 2016, the rate can more than double to reach about 150 to 200 meteors per hour.
For the best views, find a dark sky. It can be your backyard if you live in a rural area;
(Get real-time alerts from Tucson Patch and free morning newsletters, like us on Facebook, and download the free iPhone Patch app or the free Android Patch app. )
Tucson is the second best place in the world to see the meteors behind the Kielder Forest in England, according to USA Today.
"The peaks of the Tucson Mountains have the largest number of telescopes in the world, which is why it is often called the world's astronomy capital," said the site . "Access the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains and catch shooting stars from your cover or through a telescope in one of the many observatories that dot the peaks of nearby mountains. Stops like The Westin La Paloma also have a concierge cosmic on-site to guide Bill Cooke, NASA's meteorologist, says extravagant statements often accompany reports of celestial events, including last year where the Perseids would be the "most brilliant shower in the world" "Recorded human history" and that the meteors could be visible during the day. "Although stunning, the Perseids never reach storm levels of thousands of meteors at the hour, said Cooke, noting that the best performance of the Perseids dates back to 1993, when they were flying at more than 300 meteors per hour.
But that should not be the case. all tarnish your meteor observation plans.
While the two nights of the summit will be spectacular, wait until August 12 and 13 for the best meteor shower in 2018, says Cooke. Meteors start flying after midnight and continue until dawn.
"This year the moon will be near the new moon, it will be a crescent, which means that it will fold before the start of the Perseid show after midnight". Space.com. "The moon is very favorable to the Perseids this year, and it will probably make the Perseids the best rain of 2018 for people who want to go out and see it."
SEE ALSO: 2018 Guide To Meteor Showers, other celestial events
The Perseids, which take place every year from July 17 to August 31. 24, are produced when the Earth crosses the dust left by the comet Swift-Tuttle, discovered in 1862. The spike occurs when the Earth crosses the densest and darkest area
The debris warms up when they enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn in a glowing light as they travel across the sky at around 37 miles per second. Most meteors are about the size of a grain of sand, so there is little chance that we will descend to Earth as a meteorite.
Meteors fall between the constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia, but you only have to look up. able to see them from anywhere in the sky.
Be ready to sit outside for a few hours. The more you look, the more you will see. It will take about half an hour for your eyes to adapt to the darkness. Make sure to take a comfortable camp chair, or maybe even a blanket so you can lie on the floor and have a panoramic view.
While you wait for the Perseids, you should be able to see Mars until 4 o'clock. I am local time and Saturn, which will be visible until about 2 am local time. Venus and Jupiter both stopped before the Perseids' prime time, respectively at 9:30 pm and 11 pm
Image: A Perseid meteor crosses the sky in 2016. The annual exhibition, known as Perseid shower because the meteors seem to radiate from the Perseus constellation in the northeast sky, is the result of the orbit of the Earth passing through the debris of the Swift-Tuttle comet. (Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Retrieve Tucson's Letter of Information
[ad_2]
Source link
