Keep your eyes on the night sky tonight and tomorrow night. The annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on August 11 and August 12 in 2012. Expect to see around 60 meteors per hour this year. Viewing should be pretty good because the moon will not enter the picture until the early hours of the morning.
Outer Space is full of potentially dangerous objects – objects such as asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and even man-made satellites that pose a risk to our planet. While the vast majority of such objects are not on a path to collide with our own planet, some occasionally are. Without the protection offered by our atmosphere, meteors, comets, and other such space debris would crash into the Earth’s surface, potentially causing significant damage. So – how exactly does our atmosphere protect us?
Scientists are anticipating a large meteor outburst this month. On October 8, 2011 Earth will pass through the dust trail of the Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner which is the cause of the outburst. Meteor Watchers in the Middle East, parts of Europe and northern Africa will be best positioned for this potentially big show!
The 2011 Perseid Meteor Shower is expected to peak during the early morning hours of August 12th and August 13th. Unfortunately, the full moon is going to be competing for your attention – making meteor viewing not so good!