The peak of a spectacular cosmic light show is expected to occur by the end of the week.
The Perseid meteor shower is expected to be at its best and brightest during the night of August 12 through the morning of August 13.
Scott Young, an astronomer with the Manitoba Museum, said this is an annual event that will result in dozens of shooting stars throughout the night.
“Every meteor is a piece of dust from space that crashes into the earth at a tremendous speed and basically evaporates in a puff and a flash, and that’s what we see as a meteor,” he said. “On certain nights of the year, the earth in its orbit around the sun actually passes through a cloud of dust, kind of like an interplanetary dust rabbit, basically, and all of that dust hits in the same night … and so we’re basically crashing through the dust left behind by a comet .”
The dust cloud was left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed Earth in 1992. Since then, the meteor shower has peaked between August 11 and 13.
For those looking to enjoy the meteor show, Young suggests people get away from the city lights, especially this year since the shower also coincides with a full moon.
“The moon can wash out those fainter meteors, and also if you’re in a city, the city lights will also wash out those fainter meteors. If you want to see the best show, you want to go late Friday after midnight, into the early hours of Saturday morning.”
If people can’t see the shower tonight, Young says not to worry, as the Perseid meteor shower is already happening right now and will continue until the end of August. As long as people are away from bright lights, Young says they should be able to see some shooting stars.
He recommends going to places like Birds Hill Provincial Park to enjoy a shower, but noted that if people can find a place that’s away from direct light, whether it’s a park in the city of Winnipeg or even the backyard of man, he suggests people will be able to see something.
After the meteor shower ends, however, Young has a cautionary tale to share.
“We get dozens of calls from people who see an interesting rock on the ground and think they’ve found a meteorite. There are no meteorites that fall and actually land on the earth from this shower. These are small pieces of dust and completely evaporate in the atmosphere. You might find meteorites there, but they’re very, very rare, so don’t get excited about every rock you find next. It’s probably an errant meteor, not a meteorite.”
Young said weather permitting, the Manitoba Museum will live stream the shower on its social media channels.
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