Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks

Society | August 11, 2004, Wednesday // 00:00
Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks The annual Perseid meteor shower will hit its peak from midnight to dawn Thursday. Photo by WN

The annual Perseid meteor shower will hit its peak from midnight to dawn Thursday, offering sky gazers a parade of "shooting stars."

The absence of moonlight should make the bursts of light appear even more brilliant than in years past.

The streaks of light are far from the shooting stars of fairy tales, but popcorn-size particles fallen from comet Swift-Tuttle thousands of years ago. When they detached they spread out along the comet's path.

Though Earth passes near the comet only once every 130 years, it passes through the particles in the comet's path every year during mid-August. The particles are moving at 108,000 miles an hour, 60 miles above Earth's surface. They burn up in a fraction of a second.
The result is an awe-inspiring shower of light that some native cultures believed signaled the passage of one's soul into the heavens.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Society » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria