The universe is a gift that he continues to give and next week we can expect a lot of surprises! On May 30, young astronomers and ordinary space enthusiasts are encouraged to look for the chance to see an amazing display known as the Tau Herculid meteor shower – with a little luck.
While such events happen every year and are easy to determine, instead Tau Herculid will have spectators on the edge of their seats – and that’s why.
This particular show may be the first of its kind since it was discovered that a comet known as 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (documented entirely 92 years ago) has recently broken into millions of pieces.
Although they look like “shooting stars”, they are actually stone-sized fractures left by a decaying comet that we see during a meteor shower – and scientists believe that this month the Earth will pass through the debris left by SW-3 .
“It will be an event for all or nothing,” said Bill Cook of NASA’s Meteorological Environment Office on their website.
“If the SW3 debris traveled more than 220 miles per hour when separated from the comet, we can see a nice meteor shower. If the debris had a lower ejection rate, then nothing will reach Earth and there will be no meteors from this comet.
If, of course, everything is in order and it happens – these little flaming pieces will be visible to the naked eye at speeds up to 1000 per hour around 23:00 MST on Monday – but do not hold your breath!
Or we’ll see a spectacular two-hour show … or the same stars as always, depending on the weather.
If you are interested in watching out for the Tau Herculide meteor shower, please be sure to dress warmly, wear snacks, and do so as far away from light pollution as possible.
You never know what the Milky Way has prepared for us!
Curiosity staff
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