Solar Energy News  
Meteor Shower Expected To Produce Eye-catching Streaks Of Light

Perseid meteors appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast.
by Staff Writers
Mount Pleasant MI (SPX) Aug 12, 2008
One of the best-known meteor showers of the year will shoot intense streaks of light across the night sky beginning after 9 p.m. Monday. And those who can stay up for its peak performance are in for quite a show.

The Perseid meteor shower, which is caused by meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth's upper atmosphere, will produce the greatest activity after 2 a.m. Tuesday. The show will continue into the early morning hours with the rate of meteors eventually reaching one to two meteors every minute.

Central Michigan University astronomer Christopher Tycner is available to comment on the origin of this annual meteor shower and how it can best be observed.

+ "The Perseid meteors are the debris of a comet that is now far away from the sun where it spends most of its life in the coldness of space. However, during the Perseid shower, the Earth passes through the trail of dust debris that the comet left behind many years ago."

+ "When one of these dust particles is intercepted by our planet as it orbits the sun, it causes the dust particle to completely burn up, leaving an eye-catching streak of light."

+ "Perseid meteors appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast. The best view is in this direction and far away from city lights. Onlookers should find a safe dark site, such as a city or state park, where oncoming vehicle headlights won't interfere."

Tycner came to CMU from the U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station in 2007. He specializes in observational stellar astrophysics and studies circumstellar disks of hot stars using a variety of ground-based instruments including long-baseline optical interferometry and spectroscopy.

Related Links
Central Michigan University
Asteroid and Comet Impact Danger To Earth - News and Science



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


The 2008 Perseid Meteor Shower
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 24, 2008
Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show. "The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center.







  • Progress Energy Florida Files Nuclear Plant Application With NRC
  • US official urges nuclear suppliers to back US-India pact
  • Yucca Mountain cost estimate is increased
  • Japan recognises India's need for nuclear power: official

  • Climate Change May Be Pushing Birds Move Farther North
  • Climate Change: When It Rains It Really Pours
  • Forward Step In Forecasting Global Warming
  • Poland seeks allies to block EU carbon caps: report

  • Ethical coffee helps save Peruvian rainforest
  • No Evidence To Support Organic Is Best
  • TAU Researchers Root Out New And Efficient Crop Plants
  • No-Tillage Plus

  • Humans Involved In Prehistoric Animal Extinctions
  • Details Of Historic Mass Extinction Of Amphibians
  • Microbes, By Latitudes And Altitudes, Shed New Light On Life's Diversity
  • Pacific Shellfish Ready To Invade Atlantic

  • Star Trek-like 'warp drive' theorized
  • Falcon 1 Flight 3 Mission Summary
  • Rocket Racing League Conducts Rocket Racer Flights
  • Boeing Team To Design New Spacecraft Power Generation System

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Nuclear Power In Space

  • ESA Meets Increasing Demand For Earth Observation Data
  • Tropical Storm Edouard Steams Toward Texas And Louisiana
  • Global Air Quality Checks Delivered Hourly From Space
  • Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 Begins Mapping Oceans

  • New Metamaterials Bend Light Backwards
  • GMV Releases Hifly 6 Satellite Control System
  • Researchers Analyze Material With Colossal Ionic Conductivity
  • Argonne Scientists Discover New Class Of Glassy Material

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement