Meteor Shower August 2010 : Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight
The 2010 Meteor Shower is anticipated to happen this late night of August 12, 2010. Meteors or shooting stars have already happening streaking across the skies this week, but the peak is set for the late night hours of Thursday and predawn Friday, according to reports.
The Perseids are alleged as they emerge to come from the Perseus constellation. And Human beings have been capable to see the Perseid meteor shower
every August for around 2000 years, as the Earth passes during the comet dust.
Notts astronomer Phil Randall said that “You can get between 50 and 80 meteors during an hour, so there’s a fair chance you will see something”.
A small 1-inch (2.5-cm) thick meteor caused the fireball when it met a burning demise August 3 whilst streaking during Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The fireball was pragmatic by sky-watching cameras operated by the space center.
The fireball happened at about 9:56 pm local time and was low in the sky when it entered Earth’s atmosphere about 70 miles (112.6 km) above the town of Paint Rock. It appeared about 9.5 degrees above the horizon. For contrast, your fist held at arm’s length is equal to about 10 degrees of the night sky.
NASA spokesperson Janet Anderson said that “It’s a very good start to this year’s Perseid meteor shower, which will peak on the night of August 12-13 between midnight and dawn”. And NASA observations found the meteor to be hurtling through the atmosphere at a phenomenal 134,000 mph (215,652 kph).
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