Perseid Meteor Shower August 2012: Upto '100 Meteors An Hour' To Dazzle Skywatchers

Perseid Meteor Shower August 2012

The annual Perseid meteor shower will fill pre-dawn skies with hundreds of shooting stars from August 11-13, 2012, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

"We expect to see meteor rates as high as a hundred per hour," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.  "The Perseids always put on a good show."

NASA said that the Peseid meteor shower can be seen any time after 11 p.m. but the best time to look is during the dark hours immediately before dawn. It further said that the brightest planets in the solar system are also lining up right in the middle of the display.

"Jupiter, Venus, and the crescent Moon are gathering together just as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak." NASA wrote. "The alignment occurs in the eastern sky before sunrise on the three mornings of highest meteor activity."

Cooke also said NASA has developed "Meteor Counter," a free app for Android and iPhones to help amateur sky watchers count meteors in a scientific way and report the results to it.

Check out this NASA video describing the August 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower:

Perseid Meteor Shower 2012: Upto '100 Meteors Per Hour' To Fill Pre-Dawn Skies

Perseid Meteor Shower 2012

The Perseid meteor shower, said to be the largest meteor display of the year, will fill pre-dawn skies with hundreds of shooting stars from August 11-13, 2012, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

"We expect to see meteor rates as high as a hundred per hour," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.  "The Perseids always put on a good show."

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the famous meteor shower will be observed with its peak in the late evening and early morning hours on August 12-13, 2012 in the Philippines.

PAGASA added that the meteors are easiest to see if there is no moonlight, light pollution at all and if the weather permits.

NASA said that the Peseid meteor shower can be seen any time after 11 p.m. but the best time to look is during the dark hours immediately before dawn. It further said that the brightest planets in the solar system are also lining up right in the middle of the display.

"Jupiter, Venus, and the crescent Moon are gathering together just as the Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak." NASA wrote. "The alignment occurs in the eastern sky before sunrise on the three mornings of highest meteor activity."

Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 13th

The Perseid meteor shower, said to be the largest meteor display of the year, will be observed with its peak in the early morning hours on August 13, 2011, the PAGASA said.

Perseids meteor shower 2010 | Video courtesy of "meteorlog"

According to Wikipedia, during the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere. As with all meteor showers, the rate is greatest in the pre-dawn hours, since the side of the Earth nearest to turning into the sun scoops up more meteors as the Earth moves through space.



The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year and is visible starting mid-July. It peaks on August 9 and 14, depending on the particular location of the stream.