Falling star rain from comet dust in the night sky over Germany ⋆ Nürnberger Blatt

The Perseids are approaching: with dozens of falling stars per hour, the midsummer meteor shower promises a sky spectacle that can be seen in the night sky without any optical aids. The nights from the 11th to the 12th and from the 12th to the 13th of August are the most suitable for this, as the Association of Star Friends (VdS) and the Heidelberg House of Astronomy announced on Monday.

LOOKING EAST LATE EVENINGS

The yearly recurring falling star stream therefore reaches its peak on the morning of August 12th. In the nights before and after, the moon does not rise until after midnight, so that the late evening hours are not brightened by the moonlight – ideal conditions for looking for the legendary Perseids.

Sky-watchers should look east. There the Perseus constellation emerges, after which these shooting stars were named. During the maximum, up to a hundred meteors per hour are expected this year – since this peak of the current falls in the morning hours, it cannot be observed.

VISIBLE UP TO 50 METERS

However, in the nights around the maximum, 20 to 50 shooting stars per hour are still possible. Most Perseids usually appear in the early morning. This year, however, there is also the waning moon in the sky in the second half of the night, which outshines the weaker shooting stars with its brightness.

According to the information, the best view of the Perseids is offered by the late evening hours of August 11 and August 12 each before the moon rises – provided the sky is clear, of course.

TRACK TO THE STAR IMAGE PERSEUS

The August meteors have always marked a fixed date in the astronomical calendar for shooting star fans. The summer shooting stars were named after the constellation Perseus because of their apparent starting point. Astronomers speak of the so-called radiant of the swarm.

In reality, however, the shooting stars come from the immediate vicinity of the earth: on its orbit around the sun, our planet crosses a cloud of tiny particles every year between mid-July and late August, which the comet 109P / Swift-Tuttle left on its orbit around our central star.

ON THE GO AT SPEED 216,000

If the earth hits the cosmic dust trail of this comet, which recurs approximately every 133 years, the particles, which are often only the size of a pin, penetrate into the earth’s atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second – at the incredible speed of 216,000 kilometers per hour. At a height of 80 to 100 kilometers, the small dust particles then create the light phenomena called shooting stars.

Sky watchers do not need any special equipment to observe the Perseids – a deck chair or a sleeping mat and good all-round visibility are sufficient. A place far from the cities flooded with artificial light offers the best observation possibilities. If you want to photograph the meteor stream, you should use a wide-angle lens, mount the camera on a tripod and choose a long exposure.

SUMMER PLANET PARADE

In addition to the Perseids, according to the VdS and the House of Astronomy, the starry sky also currently has a true planet parade: the strikingly bright Jupiter can be seen well almost all night and migrates from southeast to southwest with the somewhat fainter Saturn.

Shortly after midnight, the red planet Mars joins in the east. Venus stands early in the morning as a bright morning star in the east, and before sunrise the nimble Mercury can also be seen directly above the eastern horizon in the first half of August.

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