The earth is expected to pass through a denser-than-usual filament of dust from Perseid’s parent comet Swift-Tuttle.Perseids, better known as earth gazers at its peak, is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity in the second week of August. During the peak period, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour.The meteor is named Perseids because the point it appears to come from, lies in the constellation Perseus.
The meteors can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle’s orbit, Perseids is primarily visible in the northern hemisphere.
Astronomers have been observing Perseid meteor shower for about last 2,000 years, with the first known information coming from the Far East, Mr. Devgun said. In early medieval Europe, the Perseids came to be known as the “tears of St. Lawrence.”
In 1839, Eduard Heis was the first observer to take a meteor count and discovered the Perseids had a maximum rate of around 160 per hour.Meteors are also called “shooting stars,” startling streaks of light that suddenly appear in the sky when a dust particle from the outer space evaporates high in the earth’s atmosphere.
“To watch the meteor shower go to an area where pollution is at its minimum. The best time would be around midnight, by then Perseus constellation will be fairly high above the horizon. The hour or two before dawn will be best of all.
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