We may not have planes in the sky this summer, but there is still a great show to see when you look up tonight. The 2020 Perseid meteor shower is happening right now. The Perseids can be seen every year from mid-July through mid- to late-August, but August 11-12th is the peak of the 2020 Perseids action.
Fun Facts You Should Know
Kids will likely have a lot of questions and want to know exactly what they're seeing. Impress them with your vast knowledge of the universe with these five fun facts from Astronomy.Com:
- The Perseids are caused by a giant comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which left a wide stream of debris in its wake. Earth is passing through that debris. But don't worry: they're small pieces, each about the size of a grain of sand, so they won't hurt us.
- This weekend is the peak of the Perseids because we will be passing through the densest portion of the debris.
- We see the "shooting stars" (that aren't really stars) when the tiny pieces of dirt and dust hit our atmosphere at a high speed and make a flash of light when they burn up.
- During most nights of the Perseids you might be lucky enough to see 20 meteors an hour, but during the peak nights, you can expect to see 50-70 per hour!
- It's called the Perseid meteor shower because all of the meteors look like they are coming from the constellation Perseus.
How to See the Free Show
Where do you look for these little falling balls of light? Just look up! There's not one particular direction to look. The best part is, there is no special equipment needed to see the show. In fact, it's easier to view it with your naked eye than through the limited lens of a telescope or binoculars. Bonus: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can all be seen during August. You can read more about spotting them at manitobamuseum.ca
The best way to view the Perseids is when the sky is clear and dark and you're away from a lot of light, so you might want to head out of town a bit to get the best, or should I say least amount of light. Grab a blanket (lying down gives you the widest view of the sky), jackets, and snacks, then find a safe place to watch and have a blast making memories with your kids. Start driving east till you find a good spot.
Want to know more? You can find out more about the Perseid meteor shower and all kinds of other cool things about space at spaceweather.com, www.space.com, and www.astronomy.com.
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