BY K.P. SANDER
Perseid Meteor Shower on Aug. 12 (Photo Courtesy: Weather.com)
If you happened to look up in the sky this past week, at just the right time, you may have seen one of the most beautiful displays that nature has to offer.
Unrivaled by any fireworks show, the Perseid Meteor Shower hit its peak in the early morning hours of Aug. 13, with a rainfall of fireballs and lingering star trails. The show – like a summer concert series – runs from July 17 through August 24.
Not to be bested, the competitive super-moon, which occurred last Sunday in its ‘closest to the earth this year’ glory, made the sky so bright that some of the shower was difficult to see.
Weather.com states that the Perseids have been under observation for at least 2,000 years, and are associated with the Swift-Tuttle comet, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. Each August the Earth passes through a path of the comet’s debris, often dazzling the sky with as many as 100 meteors in an hour.
Lunar glare often diminishes the black sky needed to see the true brilliance of the showers, and a trip to an observatory would greatly enhance your viewing. But sometimes just a little patience on a blanket in the yard will provide you with a summer viewing worth the experience. For the full experience, you can visit NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/watchtheskies/perseids-2014. The constellation Perseus must be so proud.
