Albeit from a dark place if possible. Dark means away from
lights such as street lamps and HDB flats.
PARIS - THE night sky will sparkle with 'falling stars' on
Tuesday and Wednesday as Earth passes through a trail of dusty
debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet, say scientists.
The light show, called the Perseid meteor shower, kicks off each
year in late-July and increases in intensity, peaking a couple of
weeks later.
On a clear night in a dark sky 'you should see dozens of meteors
per hour,' notes Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment
Office.
East Asia is best placed to see the shower at its most intense
moment, which is predicted for 1800 GMT (2am Singapore time) on
August 12, according to the US publication Sky and Telescope
(skyandtelescope.com).
The meteors are also active for many days before and after this
date, though the light reflected by a waning quarter moon may
obstruct the view somewhat.
The Perseids occur when Earth runs into a trail of dust and
pebbles deposited by the comet Swift-Tuttle in its 130-year orbit
around the Sun.
This debris strikes the upper atmosphere at around 60 kilometres
per second, a speed that causes it to burn up into a white-hot
streaks. Bigger chunks can be seen as fireballs.
Meteor showers vary from year to year, depending on the amount
of debris.
In the early 1990s, there were several spectacular Perseid
shows, with bursts of several hundred meteors per hour.
Meteors are named after the constellation from which they seem
to appear - in this case, Perseus, a northern constellation lying
east of Cassiopeia and north of Taurus. -- AFP
