Swift-Tuttle Comet Back This Year with its Glorious Meteor Shower

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The shooting stars will not be larger than sand grains and will vaporize in Earth's atmosphere.

This year's Perseid meteor shower will deliver one or two visible streaks every minute during peak times. If you are in the urban area, you will see less of these because of the pollution so it would be a good idea to try and get out of the urban area to see the full show.

It is called the Perseus meteor shower because it will appear to emanate from constellation Perseus. The best times to watch it will be on August 12 through dawn August 13 so note it down in your calendar or planner.

"The August Perseids are among the strongest of the readily observed annual meteor showers, and at maximum activity nominally yield 90 or 100 meteors per hour," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching columnist. "However, observers with exceptional skies often record even larger numbers."

Observing Tips

These two days will be great to spend it with your family somewhere outside of the urban area. Make sure you have a clear view of the northeast horizon and if you are staying in the urban area, look away from local lights because otherwise you will not be able to see anything.

Bring a blanket with you and lie on it making sure to capture the full view of the sky. In the late evening, starting around 9 p.m. local time, you will be able to see the first couple of "shooting stars" or meteors known as earthgrazers.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful," Cooke said. "They are among the most beautiful of meteors." But don't expect more than a handful in an hour, he said.

As Perseus rises and night progresses, you will see most of the meteors higher up in the sky. Some skywatchers enjoy counting and jotting down how many meteoroids they have seen and then comparing their notes with each other.

Telescopes and binoculars will not help you get a better view because meteoroid shower is best observed with the naked eye.

Top Ten Facts about Perseid Showers

10. Perseid meteors are exceptionally fast. They enter Earth's atmosphere at roughly 133,200 miles per hour (60 kilometers per second) relative to the planet. None of them hit the ground but if they do, they're called meteorites.

9. Comet Swift-Tuttle's debris creates Perseids. It is the largest object known to repeatedly pass near Earth. Its nucleus is about 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) across, which is roughly equal to the object that whipped out the dinosaurs.

8. Astronomer by the name of Brian Marsden in 1990 calculated that Swift-Tuttle might actually hit Earth on a future pass but more calculations showed that it will not happen. However, later on, he again calculated that the comet and Earth might experience a cosmic near miss in the year 3044.

7. When a Perseid meteor enters Earth's atmosphere is heats up to about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1, 650 Celsius). When these starts create fireballs (really visible), explosion might happen which might be heard from the ground.

6. Swift-Tuttle has many comet kin but they never enter the inner solar system.

5. Perseid meteoroids are in between 60-100 miles apart.

4. Since the Earth rotates, the side facing the direction of its orbit around the Sun tends to scoop up more space debris. This part of the sky should be directly overhead in dawn. That is why the best view usually tends to be in predawn hours.

3. Comet Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992. It was discovered by American astronomers Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle.

2. Swift-Tuttle's orbit has been tracked back almost 2,000 years and it is now thought that it was observed as early as 69 BC.

1. Swift-Tuttle is due back in 2126.

Make sure you do not miss this comet and the meteor shower. It certainly will replace the fireworks for that night.