Perseid meteor shower to light up night sky for a week
By Kristen Schorsch, Tribune reporter
August 12, 2009
Did you notice hundreds of necks craned to the sky Tuesday night?
They were gawking at the annual Perseid meteor shower, which every year brings up to 100 meteors per hour blazing fiery streaks across the sky as the Earth passes through the dust trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, said Mark Hammergren, an astronomer at Adler Planetarium.
The bright spectacle isn't over yet. The meteor shower is expected to peak between 12:30 and 3 p.m. Wednesday but sky watchers only can see the meteors in the dark, Hammergren said. So sit tight until the sun sets, then look up. You could see up to one meteor a minute, Hammergren said. The show should continue for at least a week, he said.
Discovered in 1862, the comet is a giant iceberg made up of ice, rock and dust particles that likely has been in orbit for thousands of years, Hammergren said. Particles -- about the size of a sesame seed when clustered together -- slowly have been eroding from the comet every time it has approached the sun, leaving a trail of debris that the Earth's orbit intersects once a year, Hammergren said.
The particles, known as meteoroids, create a meteor shower when they collide with the Earth's atmosphere and burn up, forming fiery streaks across the sky.
A bright meteor glows as much as the brightest stars in the sky, Hammergren said. And pay close attention: They zip across the sky at about 132,000 m.p.h., leaving a gazer's sight in a second or two, he said.
The best viewing place? Get away from the city lights and look northeast.
klschorsch@tribune.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/chi-meteor-show...
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by TheLasersShadow on
-
Saw 6 this morning at about 4:45am not too spectacular but interesting to see.
-
Permalink Reply by WTRH-AM-AE on
-
We have been hot and humid over here. We always is getting a lot of thunderstorms and heavy rains. There is a slim chance for me to see the meteor showers this year.
-
Permalink Reply by Inheritor From ConCen on
-
I SAW IT! This is my favorite meteor shower! I've anticipated it 6 years in a row now. Last two years were overcast but last night i stayed out and saw countless meteors. Faint ones, big ones with huge tails, long lasting ones .... the perseids shower is the best. Glad you posted this Tara.
-
Permalink Reply by truth on
-
The first time I saw this shower was by chance. I was on top of half dome mountain in Cali's Yosemite Nat park. It was so awesome there in the clear skies, 100 miles from city lights and 6 thousand feet up. I met others there who planned on seeing it from there, and planned their trip a year before . I just lucked out.
Truly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The shrooms certainly didn't hurt the experience :)
-
-
awesome James. I've been to half dome twice. It sounds like a fantasy to imagine seeing this shower there. I can only imagine how incredible it was! Talk about the perfect place!!! Neat story.
-
Permalink Reply by Ian on
-
im disgusted i missed it. living in Ireland has a down side... You cant see the sky most of the time. we get that much cloud, we would never notice chem trails and we miss the natural wonders of the sky aswell. ohh well maybe next time. :(
-
Permalink Reply by I811st on
-
I'm always looking up day and night analyzing the chemistry ,and in the nights leading up to the shower there were two nights where we had textbook cross gridded chemtrails across the night sky here ,near los angeles. seeing them do what they do during the day is all too common. seeing freshly laid lines on a clear night is less so.and wouldn'cha know it wed.-fri. nights the marine layer /coatal eddy had been drawn in. don't think that's coincidental , do you?
a few months back, typical sunset:
"Destroying the New World Order"
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
"cheeki kea Ha! Good one!"
This is Paris Now… You Won’t See This in the Tourist Brochures
In this video, I take you through Marché Barbès and its surrounding neighbourhoods — an area that reflects the modern, complex face of Paris most tourists ne...
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Passes Amidst Democrat Lies About a Tax cut for the Rich Being Averted
AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.It’s over, folks. President Trump and congressional Republicans aimed to…See More
"I wonder what wearables must have been like before the last reset. "
"EVERYONE'S BEEN SHOT UP HERE": Arsonists Set Wildfire In Idaho, Open Fire On Firefighters, Police
"AAAAAAND…….HE’S ANOTHER TRANS…"
"Another scare tactic to push people into anew regime of vaccinations! Either that, or this is a…"
Dr. Mike Yeadon Speaks Out Against Digital ID, CBDCs, and Agenda 2030
Dr. Mike Yeadon, ex-Pfizer VP, urges public rejection of digital ID, CBDCs, and Agenda 2030, warning of future restrictions on freedom and privacy.
"EVERYONE'S BEEN SHOT UP HERE": Arsonists Set Wildfire In Idaho, Open Fire On Firefighters, Police
- Shocking news just broke that multiple firefighters and officers were shot in an ambush at the Canfield Mountain Natural Area in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.Acco...
Well Known Wilderness Photographer Disappears in the Cascades-Guess Why?
In August of 2023 another aficionado of the great outdoors went missing. The chilling revelations…See More
The Draconian Show
Sometimes I talk to my invisible friend, IkeHe comes from another dimension when magnetic fields…See More
"Listen man I know where you're at but back in October of 2023 thru December of 2023 for months…"
Architecton | Official Trailer HD | A24
SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribeWritten and directed by Victor Kossakovsky and starring Michele De Lucchi. ARCHITECTON – Coming Soon RELEASE DATE: Comin...
© 2025 Created by truth.
Powered by
