Perseidy already Polish The sky can be observed from 27 July, but the greatest activity is during the night of 12/13 August. It is not without reason that it is said to be the night of shooting stars, because in the sky within an hour, up to 100 falls will be visible in an hour.
Perseids. These shooting stars … are not stars at all. Where did their name come from?
Jerzy Rafalski, astronomer from the Toruń planetarium, explains that the Perseids are neither stars nor meteorites. – Before reaching the Earth’s atmosphere, they are meteoroids that occur in clouds that orbit the sun like the Earth. They are a few millimeters long pieces, sometimes the size of a fist, which can be called such cosmic gravel. When these crumbs reach the atmosphere, they become meteors. Those we see in August are called Perseids after the constellation Perseus from which they “break away,” he says.
– Meteorites are something else. These, in turn, are debris that are large enough that they do not burn after entering the atmosphere and land on Earth – he adds.
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These crumbs in the Earth’s atmosphere reach speeds of up to 60 km / s, which causes them to heat up and flash for a fraction of a second, leaving behind a braid of light.
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Scientists have determined that the Perseids are the remains of the Swift Tuttle comet. – A comet is actually a lump of dirty snow that orbits the sun like the Earth and the meteoroid clouds. As he approaches ours the starsheats up and decomposes, creating just such clouds as this Perseidów “- explains Rafalski.
How to observe the Perseids?
The expert explains that the Perseids must be observed in a place where there is not much light. – We do not need telescopes, binoculars or other instruments. We start our observation after hour 23, because then the constellation Perseus appears, from which the meteoroids “break off”. It’s best to look to the northeast, that’s where Perseus will show up and that’s where the Perseids will be the most, but they can appear all over the sky. That is why it is worth looking in all directions – says the astronomer. He adds that the full moon will be an obstacle this year.
Falling stars will also delight you in the fall
The next opportunity to admire the swarms of shooting stars will be in November. – Then the Earth crosses the Leonid cloud, or meteoroids from the constellation Leo. True, then by the weather it may be more difficult to see them in the sky, but if you are lucky, you will definitely succeed – says Jerzy Rafalski.
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