An employee of the Pushchino Observatory told what to expect from the upcoming meteor shower

A sleepless night awaits all lovers of stargazing from 11 to 12 August. With the onset of darkness, the most active of all known meteor showers, the Perseids, will “gush” to the Earth. Scientists expect 100-110 meteors per hour during peak hours with excellent visibility – the Moon during this period will be on its way to the new moon phase, when it will practically not be visible in the night sky. It is also possible that the Perseids-2023 will surprise observers with their intersection with the alpha Capricornids. Their “plateau” was noted on the night of July 31, and completion is expected only on August 15.

Where did the “rain” of the Perseids come from?

The Perseid meteor shower is debris from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Every year they come to us in July and August. The source from which the brightest and fastest flow of the year visually “beats” is the constellation of the same name Perseus.

– The activity of the Perseids is calculated from year to year quite accurately, – says a senior researcher at the Pushchino Astronomical Observatory of the Astrospace Center of the Physical Institute. Lebedev Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Vladimir Samodurov. – This year the flow is observed from July 14 to August 18. It seems to us that it is flying towards us from somewhere, but in fact, the Earth itself once a year flies through the comet’s dust trail, distributed along its entire orbit. At the same time, she herself approaches our planet once every 133 years. The last time it was in 1992, when astronomers counted 400-450 meteors per hour, and the next perihelion will not be until July 12, 2126. Now the comet is far from the Earth, and the stream is weakening, but it happens that sometimes clumps appear in the comet’s orbit due to a large piece of the “mother” body that unexpectedly fell off, and then their number noticeably increases.

Under what conditions can you see a lot of meteors

– Will we really see 1-3 meteors per minute on the night of August 12?

– 1-3 meteors per minute or 100 per hour are calculated for an absolutely moonless night, which happens, perhaps, only in the mountains, where any haze and clouds are always below the observer. In fact, under normal city conditions, we see three to four times fewer meteors on a “peak” night than we could. In reality, it turns out approximately one shooting “star” every 5 minutes. Other streams are even less: some can please only five meteors per hour.

On the advice of experienced astronomers, it is better to start observing the Perseids after 22.00, having driven 30 kilometers from the city, in order to avoid the influence of urban illumination. Lie down directly on the grass, if you don’t have a comfortable lounge chair or, in a pinch, a rug, and start observing.

Help “MK” How to find the constellation Perseus without a mobile application

Find Ursa Minor. To the right of it you can see Cassiopeia – the constellation in the form of the letter W, under it – Perseus.

By the way, despite the fact that meteors fly towards us from a specific point – the radiant, that is, from the side of the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast on August 12, you should not look strictly in this direction, since meteors flying directly at us will be too short, so that they can not be noticed. It is recommended to look at the sky for 10-15 minutes, and then take short breaks to rest your eyes and make another wish.

According to Vladimir Samodurov, everyone who annually comes to the Pushchino Observatory for the night “Pushchino Perseids” is advised by experts not to take bright lanterns with them so that their light does not interfere with other people watching meteors.

Help “MK”. How professionals watch the Perseids

Meteors are one of the few objects in the celestial sphere that experts recommend observing with the naked eye. According to the rules, six people lie down in sun loungers set in the form of daisies, and each look at their own 60-degree sector of the sky, recording the arrival time of each “star” and making sketches of it.

What can be seen

Burning up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, particles of the Swift-Tuttle comet delight observers with bright flashes.

– Comet matter is, in fact, the primordial matter of our Universe, – explains Vladimir Alekseevich. – When a meteor falls, consider that you see a speck of dust that was born about 4 billion years ago. By the way, professional observations are needed in order to accurately determine the radiant from which meteors fly. Knowing where it is, you can clarify a lot of additional data about the comet itself, for example, calculate its orbit.

During the observation, among the stream of meteors, you can see the brightest of them – fireballs. These “stars” are larger than the planet Venus – the brightest “star” in the sky.

Meteors of different streams differ in color. The colder it is, the faster the fragments of the comet fly into the atmosphere, the warmer the color, the slower. For example, orange meteors travel at a speed of 20 km per second, they tend to catch up with the Earth. If you see a greenish, white or blue meteor, its speed is about 50-70 kilometers per second. So, it flies towards the movement of the Earth. The Perseids belong to such cold and fast meteors. However, another stream intersects with them in time – alpha Capricornids, whose meteors are much slower and have a yellowish or orange color. So it is possible that on the night of August 12 we will be lucky enough to see “messengers” from two stellar showers at once.

Help “MK”. Alpha Capricornidae

This is one of the weakest meteor showers associated with comet 169P/NEAT. It gives no more than 5 meteors per hour. But he is well known for his bright fireballs. The stream is clearly visible in all parts of the world.