Of all the mind-blowing displays in God's creation, a meteor shower has to rank among the top. If you have never seen one, now is your chance. The Perseid meteor shower reaches full effect this weekend. Caused by debris shed by the Comet Swift-Tuttle in the early 1990s, the shower has been ramping up since mid July.
The bits of ice and dust left behind by the comet collide with the earth’s atmosphere as speeds up to 144,000 miles per hour! These collisions create ionize trails and sometime fireballs, igniting a display of brilliant streak and “shooting stars.”
According to the American Meteor Society, this weekend is the best time to view meteors this summer. Still, during this viewing time, the moon could cause problems; it was full only a few days ago, and while waning, will still cast a fair amount of light, thus potentially reducing the number of visible meteors.
On a good year, spectators could expect to see 60 to 100 meteors per hour, but the moon’s interference could reduce the visible activity by at least half, Robert Lunsford, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, told MSNBC.com.
Prime viewing time will occur after midnight both Friday and Saturday nights. The peak effect will be the night of August 12 into the morning hours of August 13. The American Meteor Society suggests viewing during the last few dark hours before dawn on August 12 for maximum meteor coverage.
The Perseid is the best-known meteor shower, according to MSNBC. But it is not the best. This year, the Geminids, which peak between December 12 to 14, should produce the best viewing shower.
May your imagination be expanded and your worship of the One God be deepened.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment