One of the most reliable and memorable meteor showers of the year will peak on August 12. That’s when the Earth will collide with a stream of particles left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle. While these particles will hit Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of 130,000 miles per hour, there is no need for Earthlings to [...]
The Perseid meteor shower peaks at 6:00 pm, MDT, on Thursday, August 12, 2010. Predictions are for a healthy 90 meteors per hour at peak. A waxing crescent Moon will set early and give meteor watchers a good dark sky on the nights of the 11th and the 12th.
Regardless of the predicted peak hour, the [...]
The Perseid meteor shower is arguably the most well-known meteor shower of the year. In fact, John Denver’s hit “Rocky Mountain High” includes a reference to his fascination with watching the Perseid meteors from the mountains of Colorado. The song includes the line: “I’ve seen it raining fire from the sky.” I remember going camping in the [...]
This week’s Cosmic Quiz winner is Mary Newland, who asked, “Every year I like to watch the Perseids meteor shower. If the meteors are continually being shed, why does the comet not cease to exist?”
That is a great question!
As a matter of fact, comets do cease to exist over time.
Let’s start with some background information [...]
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