STAR GAZING
Meteor shower will be quite a show
The peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower this week coincides with prime viewing conditions as the moon dwindles in the sky.
Here are some key numbers for those curious about the meteors streaking across the skies.
Aug. 12-13: The Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of Aug. 12 and in the early morning of Aug. 13 (Wednesday night) — but it’s already picking up, and you can view it any night this week. The best way to see the meteors is to head out of the city, says Daryl Janzen, a lecturer in the physics department at the University of Saskatchewan.
“Find a dark place. It’s nice to have a reclining lawn chair or something so you can look up into the sky. And wear lots of warm clothes, because if it’s clear, and it should be, it’ll get pretty cold,” he said.
You can head out in any direction, Janzen said — just drive for 30 minutes and find a quiet gravel road.
100: That’s how many meteor streaks light up the sky every hour during the peak. On your own in the city, you might catch five of them — just the brightest ones, says Royal Astronomical Society of Canada member Ron Waldron. Under “dark skies,” on your own, you’ll catch about a dozen, he said.
“If you expand that, go out with your friends so you’re all facing different directions, you will see 15 in the city, 60 outside (an average of one every minute), so it really makes a difference,” Waldron said.
30 minutes: The amount of time it takes your eyes to adjust to night sky viewing. Stargazers are aided this year by the fact the moon is approaching the new moon phase at the end of the week.
“We’re nearing a new moon, so the sky will be very dark, and the darker the sky is, you’ll be able to see dimmer meteors,” Janzen said.
The best time to head out is after sunset and before moonrise.
12: There are more than a dozen meteor showers — caused by the Earth passing through the tail of a comet — in any given year, Waldron said. The Perseid meteor shower, as we pass through the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, is one of the two with the highest volume of shooting stars.
You may also catch some meteor streaks from the Delta Aquariid meteor shower, which passed its peak two weeks ago.
“It’s just exciting to watch a piece of dust or rock from space enter our Earth’s atmosphere and watch it burn up,” Waldron said.
300: The number of people registered for the Saskatchewan Summer Star Party 2015, organized by the Saskatoon chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and held annually in Cypress Hills Provincial Park.
The star party happens to coincide with the Perseid shower this year, a “perfect match,” Waldron said.