They’re coming, like every year, in the middle of summer: The Perseids. The Perseids Meteor Shower, one of the largest and most impressive meteor showers which can be seen with the naked eye, will become visible from the Northern Hemisphere in the middle of summer, from mid-July to post-August, as it is every year. It’s expected that 60 meteors per hour will enter the atmosphere and begin to burn, offering you a perfect view. The Perseids Meteor Shower is associated with the comet “Swift-Tuttle”, which means the meteors you’ll be able to see are the broken off rocks from the Swift-Tuttle comet.
The name Perseids comes from the Greek mythological character Perseus. The Perseids mean “sons of Perseus”. The meteor shower was named by the ancient Greeks themselves. They were the ones who observed and recorded the meteor shower first. Since the meteors originated somewhere just under the constellation Perseus, they named the meteor shower The Perseid, sons of Perseus.
It’s our yearly routine with my friends to watch The Perseids. Every year, at the peek-day of the shower, we grab our chairs and just watch the sky for hours while chatting. The peek days are going to be on the 13th and 14th of August. This means that the chance of you seeing a meteor highly increases on those nights. Approximately, we see 15-20 meteors per hour. But, you can see much more meteors if you have a darker, more rural place to watch than us. Due to the new moon on the 16th of August, the sky should be much darker, which means you’ll have much more opportunity to see many more meteors.
Now that you know when and where to watch, don’t forget to take a look at the sky on the 13th or 14th of August. Find the northeast on the compass and then all you have to do is recognize Perseus in the sky and wait patiently. Even though the peek-days are on the 13th and the 14th of August, you still can see a few meteors from the 17th of July to the 24th of August. Also, don’t forget to make a wish when you see one.