This year's most reliable Perseid meteor shower is set to woo sky watchers in the overnight hours of Friday and Saturday this weekend. Glowing streaks will light up the sky in the early morning hours just before the moon becomes full.
While orbiting around the sun, Earth passes through different streams of interplanetary remains called meteoroids. In most cases, these meteoroids are originated from comets.
When comets come near the sun, they get warmed and emit gas and dust. It's the gas that forms the tail with the dust left behind. Whenever Earth passes through these particles, the dust enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, emitting bright streak as a result of being heated. These rapid bright streaks are called meteors.
According to astronomers, 2011 is a good year to watch for the Perseids. However, the full moon may create some interference.
"The moon will be out of the way before dawn, and that's when the meteors will be most visible," said astronomer Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center.
Jenniskens said that the best time for watching the Perseid in the Bay Area sky will be from 3 a.m to 5 a.m. on Friday and from 4:30 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. on Saturday. Under ideal conditions, up to 100 of the shooting stars per hour should be visible when the meteor shower peaks on Friday.
A meteor streaks past stars in the night sky in Tecate in Baja California August 12, 2010. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Picture taken on August 12, using a long exposure.REUTERS/Jorge DuenesThe lights of an approaching plane are pictured as a meteor (R) streaks past stars in the night sky, on the outskirts of Cancun August 13, 2010. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Picture taken using a long exposure.REUTERS/Gerardo GarciaA meteor streaks past stars in the night sky over Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, southern England August 12, 2010. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle. Picture taken using a long exposure.REUTERS/Kieran DohertyA meteor (C) streaks past stars in the night sky at the Mont-Tendre near Montricher in the Jura, north of Geneva, late August 12, 2009. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This picture was taken using a long exposure and a fisheye lens. The small line on the right side is an airplane.REUTERS/Denis BalibouseA meteor streaks past stars in the night sky at the Mont-Tendre near Montricher in the Jura, north of Geneva, late August 12, 2009. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This picture was taken using a long exposure and a fisheye lens.REUTERS/Denis BalibouseA meteor from the Perseid shower (L) streaks past stars in the Los Padres National Forest in Frazier Park, California August 12, 2009. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Perseid meteors are bright, and often leave luminous trails of gas.REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniMeteors, streaking past stars, light the night sky over a Bedouin tent near Amman, in the early hours of August 12, 2004. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, and was clearly visible to the naked eye in several parts of the Middle East and Asia.REUTERS/Ali Jarekji
