Local News
Perseids meteor shower peaked early this morning
Scott Young is Planetarium Astronomer at Manitoba Museum, and he says last night and early Tuesday morning was the peak time for the Perseids meteor shower. Young explains meteors are commonly referred to as shooting stars or falling stars. These streaks of light in the sky are caused by little pieces of dust, sand, or rock in outer space, which burn up in our atmosphere. According to Young, there is a lot of dust scattered in space. And, similar to your home, the dust collects in a few places, causing dust bunnies to form in the earth's orbit. Young says the Perseids meteor shower is like an interplanetary dust bunny, which the earth passes through. The Perseids meteor shower started already in late July and has been slowly ramping up. Young says by the first week of August, the meteor shower will produce about 10 meteors per hour. The peak night is Monday night and early Tuesday morning, when as many as 60 meteors could be visible every hour. Young explains, however, there were two major factors which could have prevented us from seeing that many shooting stars. One of those factors is the moon. The full moon was on Saturday, but will still be big and bright in our sky. "This year, the moon is going to wipe out probably two-thirds of the number of meteors that we might see," he says. "So I'm not sure this is going to be the best year for the Perseids. It's still worth going out for and still worth checking out, but I think next year might be a better year." He says if you missed the spectacle Monday night or Tuesday morning, you can still try Tuesday night. In fact, Young says the Perseids meteor shower lasts until almost the end of August. However, the night after the peak, the rate of meteors is already down by 50 per cent. Tips for first-time watchers If watching for shooting stars is something new for you, Young's tip is to find a spot away from any other light that can shine in your face. While you cannot escape the moon, Young says you can go to a location where there are no street lights in your view. Then, just lie on your back and look up, preferably facing the darkest part of the sky. "The meteors can appear all over the sky, and it's not like something that you need binoculars or a telescope or anything like that for," he adds. "It's just a thing that you sit with your eye and look at the sky." Meanwhile, Young says the Perseids might be the most popular of the meteor showers because it happens in summer. He notes the Geminids is probably a better meteor shower, however, it happens in December when few people are going to want to stand outside at night, staring at the sky. Young says the Perseids has been a strong meteor shower for about 2,000 years. He notes there is a comet that goes by every number of years that replenishes the dust. For that reason, he says this meteor shower does not get any less spectacular as the years go by. And for Young, he says this is an event in our night sky that he still looks forward to each year.