For Northern Hemisphere observers, August is usually
regarded as "meteor month," with one of the best displays of the year reaching
its peak near midmonth.
That display is, of course, the annual Perseid
Meteor Shower, beloved by everyone from meteor enthusiasts to summer
campers. This year is expected to produce an above average number of "shooting
stars" that could offer a rewarding experience to skywatchers around
the globe.
There's just one problem: A bright moon will drown out
fainter meteors.
The moon will be at last quarter the night of Aug. 13 and it
will be at a rather bright waning gibbous phase a night or two earlier,
seriously hampering observation of the peak of the Perseids, predicted to occur
late on the nights of Aug. 11 and 12.
Moonrise on Aug. 11 comes at around 10:20 p.m., while on
Aug. 12 it's around 10:50 p.m. The moon will be hovering below and to the left
of the Great Square of Pegasus these nights and not all that far from the
constellation Perseus, from where the meteors will appear to emanate (hence the
name "Perseid").
Perseus, does not begin to climb high up into the northeast
sky until around midnight; by dawn it's nearly overhead. But bright moonlight
will flood the sky through most of those two key nights and will certainly play
havoc with any serious attempts to observe these meteors.
Shower already underway
The Perseids are already around, having been active only in
a very weak and scattered form since around July 17, as is typically the case
for this annual shower.
But a noticeable upswing in Perseid activity traditionally
begins during the second week of August, leading up to their peak. They are
typically fast, bright and occasionally leave persistent trains. And every once
in a while, a Perseid fireball will blaze forth, bright enough to be quite
spectacular and more than capable to attract attention even in bright
moonlight.
Unfortunately, because the moon was also at full phase on
Aug. 5 it will always be above the horizon during the predawn morning hours (when Perseid
viewing is best) in the days leading up to the peak. So even the gradual
increase in the shower will be spoiled by moonlight.
The moon arrives at last quarter on Aug. 13 and thereafter
its light becomes much less objectionable, but by that time the peak
of the display has passed, leaving only a few lingering Perseid stragglers
in its wake.
But nonetheless, the 2009 Perseids will be still be worth
watching.
Comet crumbs
We know today that these meteors
are actually the dross of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Discovered back in 1862, this
comet takes approximately 130 years to circle the sun. And in much the same way
that the Tempel-Tuttle comet leaves a trail of debris along its orbit to
produce the spectacular Leonid Meteors of November, the Swift-Tuttle comet
produces a similar debris trail along its orbit to cause the Perseids.
Indeed, every year during
mid-August, when the Earth passes close to the orbit of Swift-Tuttle, the
material left behind by the comet from its previous visits, ram into our
atmosphere at approximately 37 miles (60 kilometers) per second and create bright
streaks of light in our midsummer night skies.
And according to two meteor researchers, each working
independently, 2009 could turn out to be an unusually intense Perseid year.
Mikhail Maslov of Russia has determined that within a matter of several
hours on the morning of Aug. 12, the Earth will come close to three trails of
dust shed by the Swift-Tuttle comet from three prior visits to the vicinity of
the Sun (in 1610, 1737 and 1861). All three encounters will all occur within a
roughly 4-hour time frame between 4 and 8 hours UT, which will be particularly
favorable for eastern North America where this interval corresponds to midnight
to 4 a.m. on Aug. 12; the constellation of Perseus will be gradually climbing
the northeast sky during this time frame.
According to Maslov,
the Earth will be passing only 87,000 miles (140,000 km) from the center of the
1610 trail at 8:07 UT (4:07 a.m. EDT).
In the absence of moonlight, an observer might see up to 200
meteors per hour around that time, a number that sadly – because of the bright
moon – won't in 2009. Overall, though, the Perseids might still put on a good
display despite the interfering moonlight, with at least the brighter meteors
being visible to patient observers.
Another researcher, Jeremie Vaubaillon of Caltech, used a
computer simulation to depict Earth's
passage through the Perseids in 2009. Vaubaillon's
simulation clearly shows Earth encountering significant meteor activity from
about 0 hours UT on Aug. 12 through about 6 hours UT on Aug. 13, possibly
suggesting better than average Perseid activity worldwide for both the
late-night hours of Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, local times.
Is it safe?
Many years ago, a phone
call came into New York's Hayden Planetarium. The caller sounded very concerned
after hearing a radio announcement of an upcoming Perseid display and wanted to
know if it would be dangerous to stay outdoors on the peak night of the shower
(perhaps assuming there was a danger of getting hit by cosmic debris).
These meteoroids, however,
are no bigger than sand grains or pebbles, have the consistency of cigar ash
and are consumed dozens of miles above our heads. The caller was passed along
to the Planetarium's then-Chief Astronomer, Dr. Kenneth L. Franklin
(1923-2007).
Franklin quickly allayed any fears by cheerfully commenting
that there are only two dangers from watching for Perseid meteors: getting
drenched with dew and falling asleep!
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other
publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.
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