THE PUBLIC IS being urged to take in the “celestial fireworks display above your roof” when the Perseid Meteor shower takes place this weekend.
While this year’s Perseid meteor shower is active between 17 July and 24 August, it will peak this coming weekend.
David Moore, founder and editor of Astronomy Ireland Magazine, noted that the moon is out of the way to make for perfect viewing conditions.
“This year we’ll have no moon in the sky, so the sky will be as dark as it can be and that will give the best view,” Moore told The Journal.
“Usually there’ll be at least a bit of a moon in the way and sometimes it can be a full moon.
“If you have a full moon up and live in the countryside, you might as well be in the city.
“We hate full moons for meteor showers and this will be one of the best meteor showers for the average member of the public because there is no moon and good meteor rates.”
Moore explained that the meteor rates will be up to 20 times more than on a normal night.
“If you go out on a normal night in the countryside, you might only see one every 10 minutes,” said Moore, “but we could be getting two per minute on Saturday night.”
While the Irish weather can get in the way, Moore said people can hedge their bets by going outside on Friday and Sunday night too.
“Even on Friday and Sunday, you’ll get 10 times more and that gives you a way of hedging your bets against the Irish weather.
“So have a look on Friday, definitely watch out on Saturday, and have a look on Sunday as well.”
Moore adds that all people need to take in the meteor shower this weekend are their eyes.
“This is a great event for beginners because anyone with normal eyesight has all the equipment they need, except maybe a sun lounger to make it more comfortable.”
The founder of Astronomy Ireland Magazine also explained the conditions that lead to a meteor shower.
“A meteor is popularly known as a ‘shooting star’ because in ancient times, that’s what they looked like, stars shooting across the sky,” said Moore.
“We now know that they are bits of dust that have fallen off comets and comets go around the Sun thousands of times and leave dust all around the orbit.
“This dust is more or less invisible, but when we plough through it, we get an increase in the number of meteors.
“That’s what’s happening this weekend and we expect about 20 times more meteors than a normal night.”
Moore added: “Things aren’t static in space; the Earth’s going around the Sun at about 67,000 miles an hour.
“The meteors are going around the sun as well and when they hit, the collision speed is nearly double that, about 130,000 miles an hour.
“This blows a fiery streak across the sky and the smaller ones give nice meteors, but the bigger ones give fireballs.”
Moore said the last fireball In Ireland occurred two years ago and one may be visible this weekend “if you stay out long enough”.
Moore warns that those living in towns and cities will see less because most of the meteors are faint.
“So if you can get out to the countryside, this is the weekend to do,” added Moore.
“We’re going to publish a big report in the coming issue of the Astronomy Ireland Magazine when people send us in how many meteors they count.
“People have been sending in counts around the world for centuries, and this is how we know there’s two big showers every year, one in August and one in December.
“We want people to count how many they see, with just their eyes, every 15 minutes.
“It’s great fun, it has scientific value and we think everybody in the country should not be allowed to sleep on Saturday night,” joked Moore.
“It’ll be pitch black by 11pm and still pitch black at 4am, they’re the ideal times and count every 15 minutes how many you see.”
Moore said the counts have “great scientific value”.
“We’ve been noticing over the past couple of decades that the shower in December seems to be getting better and the one in August is getting weaker,” noted Moore.
“We only know that because the general public have been counting them every year.
“The name and location of these counts will be recorded in the magazine, which then gets filed in the National Library of Ireland for all time, so your work won’t be wasted,” adds Moore.
Moore also noted that it’s not just Ireland that gets this “free celestial fireworks display” but the “entire northern hemisphere of planet Earth”.
“This is on a vast scale of planetary proportions,” said Moore, “and occasionally you get one of those massive fireballs that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
“I’d be kicking myself if people are asleep over the weekend and this meteor shower is happening above their roof and they’re missing it, that would be a national tragedy.
“Mother Nature puts on a celestial fireworks display for everybody and they go to sleep? We can’t let that happen!”
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