The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks this week and will continue to linger in the coming days and weeks. (Dennis Di Cocco/Sky & Telescope)

By Ian Holmes

meteor shower

‘There’s a lot to see:’ meteor shower & several planets light up night sky

Aug 12, 2020 | 4:17 PM

NANAIMO — A summer of star-gazing continues with the annual Perseids meteor shower producing a variety of bright flashes in the night sky.

VIU astronomy professor Dr. Gregory Arkos said the annual show of bright, broken off debris from a comet peaks this week, producing an average of one meteor flash a minute.

“They’re just screaming along and as they hit the atmosphere friction just basically burns them up and what we see is those flashes, fireballs or just small bits of debris burning up,” Arkos told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He suggested taking in as much of the night sky as possible, focusing away from the northeast which is where the streaks tend to originate from.

“Some years we get a really thick patch of debris and get a really good show, other years it’s a little bit less thick, but it’s usually pretty consistent,” Arkos said.

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Binoculars or a telescope aren’t good fits for the Perseids since those tools vastly restrict viewing ranges, he said. Unobstructed overhead views and limited light pollution enhance viewing opportunities.

“You never know what will happen, sometimes you’ll get lucky and see a bright fireball,” Arkos said.

It has been a favourable summer for space buffs with the brightest comet in decades known as Neowise making its presence felt for several weeks. The much-discussed comet was accompanied by a vast collection of noctilucent clouds.

Arkos said there is even more to see up above with several planets currently orbiting closer to earth in the same area.

He said side-by-side gas giants Jupiter and Saturn can been seen at around 11 p.m to midnight to the south.

“You can see these two yellowy-white objects, very bright, brighter than anything else in the sky.”

Arkos said Mars is “screaming bright red” in the low southeast at about midnight.

Rising in the east in the pre-dawn sky is Venus, which Arkos said is unmistakably bright, while Neptune and Pluto can also be viewed with a telescope.

“Have a look at those planets, it’s a little bonus if you’re out doing some meteor watching,” Dr. Arkos said.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes