Vancouver residents may have a great opportunity to catch the Perseid meteor shower this month, and it’s going to be unique in some ways.
While the Perseid is an annual event, this year’s is a little bit different due to the fact that it coincides with a new moon.
According to the experts at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, this year’s spectacle is expected to peak between Aug. 12 and Aug. 13.
If the weather permits, Metro Vancouver residents will have a great opportunity to catch the show, but astronomer Dr. Rosanna Tilbrook has some advice.
“It’s always best to try and get away from bright lights or heavily light-polluted areas,” Tilbrook told Daily Hive.
Tilbrook informed us that the Perseids are actually visible even now and will continue to be active until Aug. 24. However, the peak will be on the evening of Aug. 12 and the morning of Aug. 13.
“Observers under dark skies can expect to see up to 100+ meteors an hour! Observing from a dark area with a wide, unobstructed view of the sky will increase your chances of seeing meteors.”
Best of all, Tilbrook says you don’t have to go too far to find a good spot to catch the show.
“For best viewing, find somewhere away from bright lights and with a wide view of the sky. Beaches like Spanish Banks or Wreck Beach are good spots, and city parks can be good options too, as long as there aren’t any streetlights around,” she said.
“Although the ambient light pollution in Vancouver will generally limit your ability to see faint meteors, the direct glare from streetlights is the biggest problem when stargazing. If you want to head outside of the city, a spot with nice dark skies that’s popular with stargazers is Porteau Cove, on the Sea-to-Sky Highway,” she added.
Tilbrook said that the annual show is fairly similar year-on-year, but she said it’s great that the shower is peaking around a new moon this year.
“This means that we should get a clearer view compared to previous years, as moonlight will not hamper the experience. Meteor showers occur as Earth moves through the debris stream left over from a comet, or sometimes, an asteroid,” Tilbrook said.
“As we enter this stream, some of the debris falls into Earth’s atmosphere and burns up, creating meteors. The comet responsible for the Perseids is comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.”
The Space Centre is also hosting a special event for the Vancouver meteor shower on Aug. 13 called Perseid: Skywatching 101.