Clouds may obscure Perseids meteor showers Saturday
August 12th, 2011 - 6:50 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Overcast skies under a full moon are likely to deprive Delhi sky gazers of one of the finest celestial spectacles Saturday night: the Perseids meteor showers.
At its peak, one can see as many as 60 meteors streak across the skies in an hour. The shower’s peak usually occurs on Aug 13, but these meteors are visible any time from July 23 to August 22.
“The Perseids meteor shower would be difficult to see in Delhi due to the dense cloud cover and full moon,” said Chandra Bhushan Devgun, director of the Science Popularisation Association of Communicators & Educators (SPACE).
As comets move about their orbits, they leave a trail of dusty and rocky debris, which gets attracted when the earth crosses their orbits. The showers are seen as they light up on entry into the earth’s atmosphere.
Records of Perseids activity date back to 36 AD. In 1839, German astronomer Eduard Heis was the first to take a meteor count and discovered that Perseids had a maximum rate of around 60 meteors per hour.
- Watch out for Perseids meteor showers Sunday - Aug 10, 2012
- Meteor shower to sparkle sky Thursday - Aug 11, 2010
- Delhi's overcast sky may obscure meteor shower - Aug 12, 2010
- Leonid meteor shower to peak Thursday - Nov 16, 2010
- Watch out for Geminid meteor shower Wednesday - Dec 12, 2011
- Annual Perseid Meteor Shower All Set To Dazzle The Skyline - Aug 12, 2010
- Sky gazers in for celestial treat Tuesday - Dec 13, 2010
- Meteor showers to make sky sparkle Aug 12 - Aug 07, 2008
- Perseid meteor shower to light up night sky Wednesday - Aug 11, 2009
- Leonid Meteor Shower 2010 Dazzles Night Sky - Nov 18, 2010
- Perseids Meteor Shower Dazzles Sky-Gazers With Stunning Display - Aug 13, 2010
- Celestial treat on R-Day - Jan 25, 2012
- Orionid meteor shower to light up night sky Wednesday - Oct 20, 2009
- Best time to see the Leonid Meteor Shower 2010 is now - Nov 17, 2010
- Watch out for Jupiter, Moon conjunction Tuesday - Jan 02, 2012
Tags: bhushan, chandra, cloud cover, comets, communicators, dense cloud, eduard, full moon, german astronomer, heis, maximum rate, meteor count, meteors, orbits, overcast skies, perseids meteor shower, perseids meteor showers, rocky debris, science popularisation, sky gazers