Summer meteor shower in NC: Peak dates, how to look

CHARLOTTE, NC – There is nothing like sitting outside on a hot summer night and watching fireballs streak across the sky. Over the next few weeks, you can see meteors every time you watch in the evening. This is thanks to the cosmic shows of the summer meteor showers: the Delta Aquarids and the glorious Perseids.

The Delta Aquarids take place from July 12 to August 30. 23 and culminate 27-28 July.

Think of the Delta Aquarides as a dress rehearsal for the most reliable Perseids. This typically prolific meteor shower runs from July 17 to August 1. 24, culminating during the night of August 12th to 13th. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free iPhone Patch app, download the free app for Android.

The meteor shower Delta Aquarid, produced by debris left behind by the comets Marsden and Kracht, is an average show, producing about 20 meteors at the peak of time.

There's a bit of bad news – a full moon at the peak on July 27 will erase the weakest of the shooting stars – but there's also good news: Slow shower meteors will always fly when the Perseid meteor shower will begin, so you should be able to see meteors flying from opposite directions.

Related: Supermoons, Lunar Eclipse, North Carolina Meteor Showers In 2018

The Perseids, which are typically rich in fireballs that create long, dramatic trails in the sky, promise to be worthy of waiting this year. 19659002] At the top of the shower, a thin ribbon will be all that is visible from a crescent moon, and the meteors should fly at a rate of 60 to 100 per hour.

In the years of "overflow", as in 2016, the intensity can reach 200 meteors per hour

Do not expect an explosion this year, but said the Perseids will still be the best meteor shower of 2018.

"This year, the moon will be near the new moon, it will be a crescent, which means it will be placed in front of the Perseids.The show starts after midnight," Cooke told Space.com, "The moon is very favorable to the Perseids this year, and this will probably make the Perseids the best rain of 2018 for people who want to go out and see it."

Historically brilliant Perseids are produced by comet Swift -Tuttle, discovered in 1862. Meteors fall between the constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia, but you only have to look up and see them anywhere in the sky

When To Watch
With both Meteors, the best viewing times are after midnight to the hours before dawn, but you may be able to see a few as soon as it is dark.

• Delta Aquarids
• Peak: from Friday, July 27 to Saturday, July 28
• Shower: from Thursday, July 12 to Thursday, August 23

• Perseids
• Peak: from Sunday, August 12 to Monday, August 13 [19659016] Shower: from Tuesday, July 17th to Friday, August 24th

The dark sky away from light pollution offers the best viewing conditions, but there are some good places to see meteors in a big city, too , loved on the outside DC in Greenbelt Park.

Here are some tips for observing NASA meteors:

• Take something comfortable to sit or lie down, like a reclining chair or a yoga mat you can see most of the sky.
• Be patient. In ideal conditions, you should be able to see a meteor in half an hour or more.
• Leave binoculars and telescopes at home. They will steal the best views. Meteors are beautiful without them, and the use of binoculars or telescopes will limit the amount of sky you can see and increase the chances of seeing only dark skies.
• Avoid looking at your mobile phone or anything that produces light. If you need to see something, use a red light. Some flashlights have interchangeable filters; If this is not the case, you can still paint the transparent filter with red nail polish.

– Animator, Beth Dalbey Patch

Photo: NASA / Bill Ingalls