A view of the Perseid meteor shower over Korkuteli district in Antalya, Türkiye on August 13, 2023. /CFP
The annual Perseid meteor shower has reached its peak this weekend, sending bright trails of light streaking across the night sky.
The Perseids, together with the Quadrantids and the Geminids, are the three major meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere. The former brings a more comfortable observation experience as it occurs in summer, while the latter two appear in winter.
With only a sliver of moon in the sky, conditions for this year's Perseid meteor shower are ideal for seeing lots of meteors.
"If you've got nice clear weather and a good dark sky, you go out just before dawn and you'll see a Perseid per minute or so," said NASA meteor scientist Bill Cooke. "That's a pretty good show."
What are the Perseids?
CGTN infographic by Yu Peng
The Perseids – one of the biggest meteor showers we can see from Earth – occur every year in the late summer. Meteor showers happen when the Earth moves through fields of debris floating around in space.
The Perseids come from comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The comet takes 133 years to orbit the sun and was last visible in 1992 and will return again in 2125, according to NASA. Swift-Tuttle is a big ball of ice and rock that sheds pieces of dusty debris as it orbits around the sun.
When the Earth passes by, those bits get caught in our atmosphere and burn up, creating the streaking lights. The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus, because the meteors' paths appear to start out from this point in the sky.
When is the shower?
This year's shower reaches its peak from Saturday night into Sunday morning. Initially a few meteors will start to show up – maybe one every 15 minutes, Cooke estimated. They'll keep picking up the pace until before dawn on Sunday, when "you'll see meteors appear all over the place," he said.
How can I see them?
Anyone in the Northern Hemisphere has a good view this year, as long as the sky is clear of light pollution and clouds. You don't need any equipment to see them, but you need to give your eyes around half an hour to adjust to the dark. Avoid looking at your cellphone since that can ruin your night vision.
The Perseids can appear anywhere in the sky. So just "lie on your back, look away from the moon and take in as much sky as you can," Cooke said.
(With input from AP)