Get ready to see shooting stars crisscrossing the sky. The once-in-a-year Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12 and before the dawn of August 13.
As Earth traverses through the dustiest debris of comet Swift-Tuttle's path today the meteor will dazzle the skies.
"Under clear, dark conditions, just before dawn, you could witness about one Perseid meteor per minute," remarked scientist Bill Cooke to Associated Press.
The year 2023 will be a good year for the Perseids as the moon will only be 10% illuminated. Years without moonlight see higher rates of meteors per hour.
On average, you can expect to see up to 100 meteors per hour during the Perseid's peak
Best view
NASA suggests that the Northern Hemisphere offers the most favorable vantage points for observing the Perseid meteor shower. It will be visible during the pre-dawn hours, though at times it is possible to view meteors from this shower as early as 10 pm.
Meteor shower
According to NASA the Perseid meteor shower peaks in mid-August. It is considered the best meteor shower of the year. With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long 'wakes' of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere.
The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers with about 50 to 100 meteors seen per hour. They occur with warm summer nighttime weather allowing sky watchers to comfortably view them.
Perseids
Perseids are also known for their fireballs. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. A typical Perseid meteoroid (called while in space) moves at 133,200 m ph when it hits Earth's atmosphere (called as meteors). Most of the Perseids are tiny, about the size of a sand grain. Almost none of the fragments hit the ground, but if one does, it's called a meteorite.
Where do meteors come from?
Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail . Every year Earth passes through the debris of such trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
