Great Balls of Fire – Perseids '2013's Best Meteor Shower'

The annual Perseid meteor shower this weekend is expected to feature a fiery fusillade of shooting stars at its peak, says Astronomy.com.

"You can expect to see up to 100 'shooting stars' per hour when 2013’s best meteor shower peaks before dawn August 12," the website says.

NASA says the peak will occur on Aug. 11 and 12, "filling the sky with streaks of light, commonly known as shooting stars."

This year's timing is especially good for viewing in the mid-northern latitudes after 10 p.m., when the waxing crescent moon will have set, Astronomy.com says.

"As always, you’ll see more meteors at a viewing site far from artificial lights," the website says.

Annual meteor showers like the Perseids in August or the Leonids in November are caused when the Earth barrels through clouds of comet debris scattered around the solar system.

"In the case of the Perseids," says NASA, "the small fragments were ripped of the tail of comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 130 years. The fragments light up due to the immense friction created when they plough into the gas surrounding Earth. 

"Each such fragment is approximately the size of a dime, but the more constant, sporadic meteoroids have been around much longer, breaking down over time into tiny fragments only about as wide as a piece of human hair."

---------------------
Like Berkeley Patch on Facebook | Follow Berkeley Patch on Twitter