Here's when Canadians can watch the mesmerizing Perseid meteor shower
Canadians are in for a celestial treat this August because the Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak in just a few weeks.
According to Space.com, the Perseid meteor shower is annually active between mid-July and August.
This year, the website says we’ll see the Perseids peak the night of August 12 and right before dawn on August 13.
The moon will be about 50% illuminated during its peak, so the best time to view the celestial event will be from midnight until dawn.
EarthSky notes that next month’s Perseid meteor shower will be “rich and steady” and that the phenomenon tends to get stronger “as late night deepens, into wee hours just before dawn.”
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“The meteors are colourful. And they frequently leave persistent trains,” states the website.
According to NASA, the Perseids originate from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the sun once. The space agency also says it’s considered the best meteor shower of the year.
That’s because it’s also one of the “most plentiful” space events with anywhere between 50 and 100 meteors seen per hour.
Another special addition to the Perseids is its fireballs. These are large explosions of light and colour that last longer than the meteor strike itself, adds NASA.
“This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with apparent magnitudes greater than -3,” writes the agency on its website.
If you’re hoping to catch the light show, you’ll want to be far away from light pollution. That means city-dwellers might want to head out of town to a darker, more remote viewing area.
EarthSky also says it is best if you plan for a longer viewing experience to allow your eyes to adapt to the dark. This means trying to watch for more than 20 minutes to properly see the meteors.
There are also no dangers to viewers while watching the meteors. The Perseids are “millimetre-sized dust particles, which enter the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of 60 kilometres per second,” says Western University.
With files from Isabelle Docto
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