dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (08/11/85)
You've got another chance tonight to see some Perseid meteors. More -- after this. August 11 The Perseid Meteor Shower The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks Monday morning -- in early daylight for those on the east coast -- and before dawn for those out west. So you might see a number of shooting stars in a dark country sky Sunday night, or Monday before dawn. Most meteor showers are best after midnight -- and the Perseids are no exception. Unfortunately, this year, the moon is in the predawn sky -- so it might be best to watch in the middle of the night on Sunday, before moonrise. Meteor showers result from Earth's passage through a swarm of small icy particles -- debris left behind in the orbits of comets. The Perseids come from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has been seen only once from Earth, in 1862. This comet has about a 120-year orbit around the sun. It was expected back in the early 1980s -- but no one has seen it yet. Meanwhile, the Perseid meteor shower -- spawned by the comet -- was especially intense in 1980. And it has tapered off since then. It could be that the parent comet to the Perseids returned -- and passed unnoticed through our vicinity of the solar system. Again the Perseids have tapered of since 1980 -- but they're still one of the year's best meteor showers -- sometimes producing as many as one meteor per minute. This year the moon is in the predawn sky Monday morning when the shower will be peaking. But you might see some meteors if you get out in the country late Sunday night -- when the moon hasn't come up yet. Good luck! Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin