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According to information published by the International Meteor Organisation, the Perseids meteor shower will be at its peak tomorrow.
What are the Perseids?
The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet “Swift-Tuttle”. The meteors are called this as they appear in the constellation Perseus.
.A meteor shower occurs when the trail of interplanetary debris like the one left behind by comets or asteroids enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The interplanetary debris is mostly made of space rocks also called meteoroids.
As the meteoroids fall toward Earth they produce heat throughout the rock, this causes the meteoroid to heat up. The streak of intense light we see is the hot air behind the burning rock.
When Earth encounters many meteoroids at once we call it a meteor shower.
When can we see the Perseids?
Although the Perseids have been active since July the 17th, the visibility depends on a number of factors. Geographic location, time of day, city lights pollution and of course the weather all plays a vital role. In Zakynthos the Perseids’ radiant in the sky will peak tomorrow, Tuesday 13th August, 2019. The event will however, continue up until the 24th of August, 2019.
CHART
Below is a chart for those who require the alt-az (horizontal) coordinate system.
Date:- 13/08/19
Time:-
00:00 – 22o,32o 02:00– 36o,40o 04:00– 51o,41o 06:00– 65o,27o 08:00– 69o,347o
10:00– 58o,322o 12:00– 42o,318o 14:00– 15o,335o 16:00– 7o,349o 18:00– 6o,5o
20:00– 11o,20o 22:00– 11o,20o
Greek Mythology
Perseus is a constellation in the Northern sky, which is named after the Greek hero Perseus. In Greek Mythology, Perseus was the son of Danae. He was sent by King Polydectes to bring the head of Medusa the Gorgon. Medusa turned to stone all who gazed upon her, so Perseus killed her in her sleep. It was then that Pegasus and Chrysaor appeared from her body. Perseus continued to realm of Cepheus whose daughter Andromeda was to be sacrificed to Cetus the sea monster. He rescued Andromeda from the monster by killing it with his diamond sword. He turned Polydectes and his followers to stone with Medusa’s head and then appointed the fisherman, Dictys King. Perseus and Andromeda married and had six children.
In the sky, Perseus lies near the constellation Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Cetus and Pegasus.
Feature photo: Zakynthian Dennis Anastassiou
