dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (08/17/84)
The Perseid meteor shower is now nearing its peak -- but the moon is in the way. More about it -- right after this. August 10 Meteors and the Moon This is usually one of the best times of year for skywatchers -- because the Perseid meteor shower is now nearing its peak. The peak of the shower is tomorrow, Saturday -- and Sunday -- normally great days to go out before dawn and look at a sky full of shooting stars. But even if you did that -- it's likely this year that you wouldn't see very many meteors. The reason is that the moon is now close to being full -- it's now washing the sky with bright moonlight all night long. The meteors are still there. These bits of debris left behind by a comet are actually raining down through Earth's atmosphere even now. But because the sun is so bright in the daytime, and the moon so bright at night, all but the brightest meteors are invisible. This would have been an interesting year to watch the Perseid meteor shower because of the anticipated return of the comet that spawned the Perseids. Comet Swift-Tuttle has been expected to return to our vicinity for the past several years. It was seen just one time, in 1862. Now the comet is overdue for a return near the sun -- and some people are wondering if we missed it -- and if the Perseid shower is getting weaker as the years go by. To attempt to find out, we'll have to try again next year -- when the moon will be a slim crescent in the predawn sky during the peak of the Perseids. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin