The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks on Monday, Aug. 12 and Tuesday, Aug. 13 with one to two meteors visible per minute. (Dennis Di Cocco/Sky & Telescope)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

ROCKY SHOWERS

Annual Perseid meteor shower provides unique star-gazing experience

Aug 12, 2019 | 9:38 AM

NANAIMO — An annual meteor shower is set to dazzle the skies over the next few weeks, provided a full moon and mother nature don’t intervene.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks Monday, Aug. 12,. It is one of the more active and visible events of its kind. In the past, the shower has seen one to two meteors per minute shoot through the atmosphere.

Scattered clouds on central Vancouver Island, combined with a full moon on Aug. 15 could hamper any viewings.

However, VIU astronomy professor Dr. Gregory Arkos told NanaimoNewsNOW this event is one of the best shows of the year.

“Every meteor shower has varying amounts of meteors per hour that you can see, but the Perseid’s tend to be pretty reliable and very high compared to other showers.”

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Observers are encouraged to find a spot away from light pollution given off by cities and to avoid binoculars or telescopes.

The meteors are easily visible by the naked eye and magnification may result in missing a unique show.

“The Perseid’s are also quite rich in what’s called ‘fire ball’ meteors, the ones that are really bright and leave a smokey tail behind them as they burn up.”

The shower is caused by debris from a comet orbiting the solar system. It leaves a long trail of rocky debris that collides with Earth’s atmosphere.

“It’s basically a dirty snowball in space that’s being melted by the sun. As this material is being fried off the comet, it floats along the same orbit as the comet itself.”

While the annual event peaks overnight, star gazers can observe the phenomenon during the next two weeks.

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