Perseid meteor shower — showing this week!
Posted on August 10th, 2009 by lindseyb
What a wonderful excuse to stay up late and camp out on the porch. This annual summer shower of meteors in sure to be a memory maker. The meteors are from the comet swift-tuttle and are estimated to be over a thousand years old. At peak times you may see over 40 an hour.
This youtube video gives a time-elapsed taste for what you are in for:
The best viewing time for North America this year is going to be after 11pm on August 11th and again on August 12th, so check the weather forecast and pick your time.
Links
To make the most of it here are some websites with viewing tips
App
Yes, there is an app for that, for iphone or ipod touch, it costs .99c to download here
Radio Stream
There is also a live radio stream via internet of meteor activity from spaceweather.com,
The Air Force Space Surveillance Radar is scanning the skies above Texas. When a meteor or satellite passes over the facility–ping!–there is an echo.
Twitter Stream
For more up to date information and cool links check out the science channel meteorite men on twitter who tweet about all things meteoric.
Interactive Planetarium
For further investigation for older kids explore your night sky using “Your Sky”, the interactive planetarium of the Web.
Click on the link for your city to view the map of the night sky above. The keys below will be helpful:
Quiz
A quiz from the science channel distinguishes asteroids, meteors and meteorites here
Summer Brain Fit is a 6-week series of online activities aligned with some typical outdoor summer fun that is intended to keep kids thinking and learning while enjoying summer.
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