A rare celestial alignment is occurring this week, bringing a meteor shower and a solar eclipse. The Perseid meteor shower will be visible on Wednesday night and before dawn Thursday morning, reaching its peak on Thursday at 10:53 a.m. ET, according to EarthSky.
Meteor Shower and Solar Eclipse
The meteor shower is best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA. Meanwhile, a total solar eclipse will pass over parts of the Northern Hemisphere on Wednesday. The total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s light and briefly darkening the sky.
The meteor shower peak and solar eclipse occurring so close together is extremely rare, said Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society. Observers in locations that will experience the total solar eclipse may even see meteors during totality, according to EarthSky.
The Perseid meteor shower is considered the best meteor shower to observe, according to NASA. Observations of the Perseids go back more than 2,000 years, with meteors radiating from the constellation of Perseus. This shower is also known for featuring fireballs, meteors that are exceptionally bright and are visible for longer than other meteors.
From rural locations across the northern United States, observers may see around 30 to 50 meteors per hour, while those in urban locations may see 15 to 25, according to Lunsford. The parent comet of the Perseids — the comet that sheds particles resulting in the meteor shower — is 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun about every 133 years.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
