Perseid meteor shower likely to be just so-so
Enjoyed the Perseid meteor shower last year?
Good, because it won’t be spectacular this year. The peak of the Perseids, which is always Aug. 11-13, will happen just as the moon is nearing full.
Which means Earth’s celestial neighbor will act like a bright spotlight in the sky, dimming the view of shooting stars.
Take heart, though. Stargazers can head to dark sky areas this weekend when the moon is setting earlier.
Bob Bonadurer, director of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s Daniel M. Soref National Geographic Dome Theater & Planetarium, recommends viewing the Perseids a few hours before sunrise, around 3 or 4 a.m. this weekend.
“The moon is just amazingly beautiful but a little bright,” Bonadurer said this week. “I never want to discount the moon; it’s lovely in the sky, but sometimes for meteor showers it’s not big on the list.”
Every August, Earth passes through the trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle’s debris and the sand- or pebble-sized dust traveling 37 miles per second falls toward our planet. When they transform into fireballs or streaking dots in the sky, they’re actually pretty close to Earth — about 50 to 70 miles above us.
Meteors begin to ramp up several days before the peak, which means folks who want to wake up early to lie on a blanket or lawn chair to look up could see 25 to 50 meteoroids per hour.
“It’s still a little bit of a guessing game, but it’s still worth a show,” said Bonadurer. “We encourage people to get out and explore the sky; it’s not just about how many shooting stars you see.”
In Wisconsin, moonset times are:
❚ Aug. 9, 12:47 a.m.
❚ Aug. 10, 1:26 a.m.
❚ Aug. 11, 2:10 a.m.
❚ Aug. 12, 2:59 a.m.
❚ Aug. 13, 3:53 a.m.
❚ Aug. 14, 4:51 a.m.
Travel anywhere there’s not much light pollution — meaning it’s best to get away from city lights. In 2017 Newport State Park in Door County became the first, and only, Wisconsin state park to be named an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. Friday night is expected to be clear while there’s a slight chance for thunderstorms Saturday night in southern Wisconsin and partly cloudy skies Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Debris is knocked off comets as they orbit the sun. It has been more than two decades since Earthlings could easily see a comet in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth plows through the dusty trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
“The Earth is running in its orbit around the sun and the Swift-Tuttle debris is always in the same spot,” explained Bonadurer. “It’s a huge debris cloud and we’re passing through it at the same time every year.”