Animation: Perseid Meteor Shower
Explanation:
Where do Perseid meteors come from?
Mostly small bits of stony grit,
Perseid
meteoroids were once expelled from
Comet Swift-Tuttle and continue to follow this comet's orbit as they slowly
disperse.
The featured animation depicts the entire meteoroid stream as it orbits
our Sun.
When the Earth nears this stream, as it does every year, the
Perseid Meteor Shower occurs.
Highlighted as bright in the animation,
comet debris
this size is usually so dim it is practically undetectable.
Only a small fraction of this debris will enter the Earth's
atmosphere, heat up and
disintegrate brightly.
This weekend promises some of the better skies to view
the
Perseid shower
as well as
other active showers
because the
new moon will not only be faint,
it will be completely absent from the sky for most of the night.
Although
not
outshining faint Perseids,
the new moon will partially obstruct the Sun as a
partial solar eclipse will be
visible from some northern locations.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
