Perseid Meteor Shower
Shooting-star seekers heading out to watch the Perseid meteor shower Aug. 11 and 12 may see a much better show than in past years.
That's because the Earth will collide with more material than usual from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which is the source of the Perseids. Jupiter's gravity has tugged the debris stream in such a way that Earth will move closer to the middle of the stream, rather than the edge, NASA officials said in a statement.
In fact, Earth may collide with three or more streams during the shower this year. This could result in double the usual rate of meteors, and a spectacular rate of 200 meteors per hour under perfect conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment