Email from Dr. Louise Smith, Professor of Astronomy , Union College

Dear Sir,

Here is the information you requested about the upcoming Perseid meteor shower. This year’s peak nights are expected to be August 11 and 12. The shower actually begins around July 22 and will continue after the 12th, gradually tapering off for another ten days or so. Casual observers have a good chance of seeing one or two meteors any time during the week of the 11th, provided they are in low-light conditions.

Intensity on the peak nights is tricky to predict; observers in very low-light conditions, far from any light pollution, might see as many as 100 meteors per hour this year, but that is only an estimate. This year, the first-quarter moon will be setting around midnight local time, so it will not interfere with the best of the viewing.

Observers should find a comfortable spot as far away from light sources as possible. They will want to look roughly northeast. Although meteors can show up anywhere in the sky, this shower will radiate from the constellation Perseus. Perseus hangs over the northeast horizon early in the evening and will climb further overhead as the night passes. The “W” shape of Cassiopeia, which will probably be more familiar to most people than Perseus, is nearby.

In response to the letters you mentioned receiving last year: No, there is no danger in viewing a meteor shower, unless you trip over something in the dark while you are looking up! The Perseid meteors are roughly the size of small grains of sand, and the vast majority of them burn up entirely in the Earth’s atmosphere. Solar eclipses can be hazardous if people look directly at the Sun, but meteors are not bright or intense enough to cause eye damage.

Thanks for helping to spread awareness of celestial events!

Dr. Smith

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