Milky Way and Exploding Meteor
Tonight the
Perseid Meteor Shower reaches its maximum.
Grains of icy rock will streak across the sky as they evaporate during entry into Earth's atmosphere.
These grains were shed from
Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The Perseids result from the annual crossing of the Earth through
Comet Swift-Tuttle's orbit, and are
typically the most active
meteor shower of the year.
Although it is hard to predict the level of activity in any meteor shower, in a clear dark sky an observer might see a
meteor a minute.
This year's
Perseids occur just before a
new Moon
and so the relatively dark sky should make even faint meteors visible.
Meteor showers in general are best be seen from a
relaxing position, away from lights.
Featured here
is a meteor caught
exploding two weeks ago above
Austria
next to the central band of our
Milky Way Galaxy.