Perseid Meteor Shower 2023: Check when, where and how to see it

Perseid Meteor Shower:Perseid meteor shower, one of the most dramatic views in the night sky, will be active between July 17 and August 24. It will peak on August 12 and 13. The high hourly rate and bright meteors of the Perseid meteor shower make it the focus of many meteor watchers' calendars. It gets its name from Perseus, the constellation from which it originates. Although the Perseid meteor shower began on July 17, the meteors will increase every night until it reaches its peak in mid-August.

Here's everything you need to know about the Perseids meteor shower.

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Sun's heat breaks a comet into pieces when it reaches it. If the debris enters the Earth's path around the Sun, it slams into the atmosphere at 7 to 45 miles per second. The average velocity of a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second.

The meteor squashes the air ahead of it, which heats up to thousands of degrees Celsius. Then, the small meteors evaporate and leave behind a light trail, and the large ones explode as fireballs.

Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer, was the first to discover the relationship between meteor showers and comets. He also announced that the orbit of a comet discovered by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle coincided with the path taken by the source material of Perseids.

How to watch the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseids are one of the most active meteor showers of the year. There's also a high chance of witnessing fireballs, meteors with a bright light and long trail. The best view of the meteor shower is in the Northern Hemisphere.

Observers can watch the Perseid meteor shower from wherever they are. However, certain places can enhance the experience for a watcher. Avoid inclement weather and look for a clear sky to watch the Perseid meteor shower. The best time to witness the dramatic sky is the peak days.

One must prepare themselves to watch the Perseid meteor shower. The first step is to decrease the amount of light in the field of view by choosing a place in the countryside or a nearby park with fewer lights. Before watching the meteor shower, one must adjust their eyes to the dark and avoid any screen light at least 15 minutes prior.

Meteors can occur in any part of the sky. So, it's better to choose a place without any obstructions in the views like trees or buildings. Binoculars or telescopes are not necessary. Furthermore, the best time to see the Perseid meteor shower is when the sky is darkest and the Moon is below the horizon.

(With inputs from agencies)

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