Professor says meteor shower will be out of this world

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/perseid.jpg” caption=”A Perseid captured on camera during the 2009 shower. Photo via flickr.com/photos/aresauburnphotos.”]

var addthis_config = {
data_track_clickback: true
}

Stay connected

src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/facebook1.gif" border="0">
src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/youtube1.gif" border="0"> href="http://twitter.com/dailynewsatmac"> src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/twitter1.gif" border="0"> href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcmasterdailynews"> src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/flickr1.gif" border="0">

Republish this Article for Free

Republish this Article

We believe in the free flow of information. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 2.5 Canada (CC BY-ND 2.5 CA), so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print.

All republished articles must be attributed in the following way and contain links to both the site and original article: “This article was first published on Daily News. Read the original article.”

[img_inline align="right" src="http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/perseid.jpg" caption="A Perseid captured on camera during the 2009 shower. Photo via flickr.com/photos/aresauburnphotos."]<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><br />
<a class="addthis_button" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?<br />
v=250&pub=mcmasterdailynews"><img<br />
src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/v2/lg-share-en.gif" width="125" height="16"<br />
alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border:0"/></a><br />
<script type="text/javascript"><br />
var addthis_config = {<br />
    data_track_clickback: true<br />
}<br />
</script> <br />
<script type="text/javascript" <br />
src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pub=mcmasterdailynews"></script<br />
><br />
<!-- AddThis Button END --><br><br />
<br><br />
Depending on the weather, there could be a stellar show in the sky tonight. <br />
<br />
Earth is travelling through the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle, creating the annual Perseid <br />
meteor shower, which will be at its peak tonight. According to Sarah Symons, a professor <br />
in the Integrated Science Program (iSci), this should be a prime viewing year. <br />
<br />
"It&#039;s a significant meteor shower, and this year the moon won&#039;t be up during the time of <br />
greatest activity, in the pre-dawn hours," said Symons. "The Perseids also occur during the <br />
summer, which means that many people are camping or at the cottage and so will have a <br />
great view of the night sky.<br />
<table width="220" border="0" cellpadding="10" align="right"><br />
<tr valign="top"> <br />
<td bgcolor="#E7E8E9"><h1><strong><div align="left"> Meteor <br />
trivia</div></strong></h1><br />
<p><li>Though most meteors seen during the Perseids will be from the comet Swift-<br />
Tuttle, Earth is randomly hit by debris from the asteroid belt. These meteors will be slower <br />
than those that are part of the shower.</p> <br />
<p><li>Scientists do not believe that they have ever recovered a meteorite (a meteor that <br />
hits Earth) from a comet.</p><br />
<p><li>Scenes from the movie Jaws, which was filmed during the Perseids, include faint <br />
meteors added in post-production.</p> <br />
</td><br />
</tr><br />
</table><br />
<br />
The Perseids, so-named because they appear to come from the constellation Perseus, are <br />
caused by debris left behind from Swift-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar <br />
system every 133 years, leaving behind a trail of dust and rock. As Earth travels through <br />
the debris field the dust and rock hit the atmosphere at about 150,000 kilometres per <br />
hour, creating the streaks of light that make up the meteor shower. <br />
<br />
"Not only are they travelling at high speeds, but they&#039;re also very high up in the <br />
atmosphere," said Symons, noting that even the lowest meteors are still 60 to 70 <br />
kilometres in the sky. <br />
<br />
Symons suggests leaving the telescope and binoculars at home, as meteor showers are <br />
easiest to see with the naked eye, and getting away from heavy light pollution, although <br />
some of the brighter meteors should be visible in suburban areas. <br />
<br />
If a meteor shower isn&#039;t good enough reason to look skyward tonight, the planets Venus, <br />
Saturn and Mars will also be aligned, getting close enough together to fit inside the view of <br />
a pair of binoculars.<br />
<p><a name="fb_share" type="button_count" <br />
href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script <br />
src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
<br><br />
<br><br />
<p>            <b>Stay connected</b><br />
        <p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/mcmasteruniversity/"><img <br />
src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/facebook1.gif" border="0"></a> <br />
      <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/McMasterUTV"><img <br />
src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/youtube1.gif" border="0"></a> <a <br />
href="http://twitter.com/dailynewsatmac"><img <br />
src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/twitter1.gif" border="0"></a> <a <br />
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcmasterdailynews"><img <br />
src="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/images/flickr1.gif" border="0"></a><br />

Media Enquiries

Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24073
Email: comms@mcmaster.ca

The Communications and Public Affairs Office is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The University has a broadcast quality television studio to facilitate live and pre-recorded interviews with media. Learn more about our experts.