Forecast: 100% chance of meteor showers
EUGENE, Ore. - With clear skies in the forecast and the moon waning to a slender crescent by this weekend, conditions will be prime for the annual Perseids meteor shower.
The showers peak the night of Aug. 11 and the morning of Aug. 12, with as many as 50 to 100 meteors per hour streaking across the night sky, although as many as 14 per hour were recorded earlier this week.
The meteors may be visible now in lesser concentrations, but the prime conditions are coming up this weekend.
"The Perseids tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight, and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn," according to EarthSky.com.
NASA plans a live chat online Aug. 11-12 with astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The chat experts will be available to answer questions between the hours of 8 p.m. - midnight PDT Aug. 11 (9 p.m. to 1 a.m. MDT, Aug. 11-12).
The Perseids originate from the constellation Perseus but should be visible all over the night sky as the shower intensifies.
"The Perseids have been observed for at least 2,000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years," according to NASA. "Each year in August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet's debris. These bits of ice and dust -- most over 1,000 years old -- burn up in the Earth's atmosphere to create one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseids can be seen all over the sky, but the best viewing opportunities will be across the northern hemisphere."
I was outside early this morning looking, and I didn't see much of squat.
Wonder if this will have any effect on climate change, or is it only man that affects climate change????
@souptonuts the 210,000 rotation cycle of the earth around the sun is responsible for all climate change, humans have ZERO impact. Large meteorite impacts are responsible for sequestering large amounts of carbon underground, so they play a role in carbon levels, deserts exist because of the lack of carbon, as mankind has repatriated the carbon, Forest densities have doubled, we will restore the earth to its natural paradise by utilizing the sequestered hydrocarbon fuels. There is interstellar carbon in meteorites, it would be interesting to know how much carbon they contribute to the upper atmosphere, the earth surface is out of balance with regard to carbon, as we repatriate it to the surface, it provides the carbon we need for expansion of food and fiber production necessary to feed and cloth the expanding populations. It is almost as if it was the product of intelligent design. Â
@souptonuts I can smoke it into a pretty cool effect there souptonuts=)