Watch the Perseid meteor shower in August 2018

In August, astronomy enthusiasts around the world will have the opportunity to admire the Perseid meteor shower, one of the most remarkable meteor showers of the year.

What is the meteor shower?

When meteorites enter the Earth’s atmosphere at supersonic speeds, they generate shock waves that forcefully compress the air along the way. This pressure heats the air and the meteors, causing them to burn brightly, creating meteors in the sky. Meteor showers occur when Earth enters the dust lanes left behind by comets each time they pass through Earth’s orbit. The Perseid meteor shower originates from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle which orbits the Sun with a period of 133 years.

Upon entering the atmosphere, meteors move parallel to each other, but due to the law of near and far, it feels like they all come from the same point in the sky. This area is called the epicenter of the meteor shower. In which constellation is the center, the meteor shower will be named after that constellation. The Perseid meteor shower is centered in the constellation Perseus.

The 2012 Perseid meteor shower in the Snowy Range.

Photo: David Kingham on Flickr

Perseid meteor shower information

Name of meteor shower: Perseids
Source : Comet Swift-Tuttle
Operating time: July 17 – August 24 each year
Maxims: August 12 and 13
Maximum meteor ratio (ZHR): 80-100 wicks/hour
Meteor speed: 58km/s
Emission Point (Radiant): Constellation Perseus (Fairy)

The Perseids and Geminids in December are the two largest meteor showers that occur regularly each year. Normally, the rate of meteors seen by the Perseids per hour is around 80 to 100 at its peak. In particular, there were years when the Perseid meteor “explosion” occurred, when the number of observed meteors increased significantly. The most recent was the Perseid meteor shower outbreak in 2016, which resulted in a predicted rate of around 150-200 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case this year.

observation post

Besides scale and time, the location of meteors is also a question that interests many people. Most meteor showers have an emission point (Radiant) from which most meteors tend to emanate. Similarly, the emission point of the Perseid meteor shower is located in the constellation of Perseus (England), but it is not really necessary to determine the exact emission point as well as the constellation. This constellation will rise at midnight in the northeast and gradually rise.

Information to note:

– The meteor shower is not like a “rain” that will have meteors crossing the sky, in fact in history there have also been some “real” meteor showers, but not yet.
– There will be times when you encounter a fairly large meteor, people often call it a fireball, don’t confuse it with a UFO.
– The most important thing in the observation is good weather and clear sky, not necessarily the maximum time, you can observe the most meteors at the maximum time, not only see the rain The meteor is at its peak so you can see it from now on, as long as the weather is nice.

Viewing guide

The Perseid meteor shower occurs from July 17 to August 24 and peaks on the night of August 12 to 13. The peak frequency can go up to 110 strokes/h under ideal conditions. The days around the climax also have a fairly high frequency of meteors, which should not be ignored.

The meteor shower is completely observable with the naked eye. Find a safe place, out of sight, away from lights to observe. It is important that the sky is clear, that the stars are visible. If it is cloudy or raining, it is best to go to bed to recover. You can prepare more tents, food, drinks, blankets or mosquito repellent for the viewing session.

As mentioned above, the center of the meteor shower has only geometric significance. In fact, meteors can appear anywhere. Therefore, you need to lie on a mat or canvas to cover the sky, it is not necessary to identify the constellation of the Fairy (Perseus).

The actual frequency of meteor showers depends on the observed conditions and is only statistically significant. For example, the number of 60 spots/h does not mean that the meteor will fall uniformly 1 streak/minute. Sometimes I wait a long time and see nothing, but sometimes there are a few or three things in a row. So be patient. Observing all night will produce more meteors than waiting for a while.

Instructions for shooting meteor showers:

https://deepsky2000.net/forum/showt…g-mua-sao-bang

The references:

Rendtel J. (2017). “2018 meteor shower calendar”. International Meteor Organization. IMO INFO(2-17).

Nguyen Tung Lam
HAS Hanoi Amateur Astronomical Society