2010 Perseids Meteor Light Show

א' באלול תש"ע
Belz 3

Through the night of August 12 (this Thursday) and the morning of August 13 (this Friday) the Perseids meteor shower peaks, producing up to 60 meteors per hour. Look to the northeast after midnight and you may see a spectacular light show!

The Perseids meteor shower is visible to the naked eye annually in late summer from roughly July 23 through August 22, depending on weather conditions and your location on the earth. The source of the meteor shower is debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. As the earth passes through the comet's debris cloud, earth is treated to multitude of falling stars traveling at 71 kilometers per second. Though the lights are bright, each falling star is typically no bigger than a grain of sand.

This year, the slender waxing crescent moon sets early in the evening, leaving the sky deeply dark for good visibility in clear weather. The wee hours before dawn is the best time to see persistent trains from the falling stars.