The Perseids (pûr'sē-ĭdz, or ['pʰɝsijɪdz] in IPA) are a prolific meteor shower^[1] associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids are so called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Perseus. Meteor showers occur when Earth moves through a meteor stream. The stream in this case is called the Perseid cloud and it stretches along the orbit of the Comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it passed by the Sun. Most of the dust in the cloud today is approximately a thousand years old. However, there is also a relatively young filament of dust in the stream that boiled off the comet in 1862. The approximate rate of meteors originating from this filament is much higher than normal. IPA may refer to: The International Phonetic Alphabet or India Pale Ale ... Photo of a burst of meteors with extended exposure time A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earths (or another bodys) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star or falling star. ... A meteor shower, some of which are known as a meteor storm or meteor outburst, is a celestial event where a group of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the sky. ... Comet Hale-Bopp Comet West For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ... Comet Swift-Tuttle (formally designated as 109P/Swift-Tuttle) was independently discovered by Lewis Swift on July 16, 1862 and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on July 19, 1862. ... The radiant or apparent radiant of a meteor shower is the point in the sky that (to a planetary observer) meteors appear to originate from. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Perseus is a northern constellation, named after the Greek hero who slew the monster Medusa. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Comet Swift-Tuttle (formally designated as 109P/Swift-Tuttle) was independently discovered by Lewis Swift on July 16, 1862 and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on July 19, 1862. ... Sol redirects here. ...

Observation

The famous Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2000 years, with the first known information on these

 meteors coming from the Far East. In early Europe, the Perseids came to be known as the "tears of St. Lawrence." 

The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14, peaking about August 12. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are mostly visible in the northern hemisphere. This page concerns the Christian martyr. ... is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ...

To experience the shower in its full, one should observe in the dark of a clear moonless night, from a point far outside any large cities, where stars are not dimmed by light pollution. The Perseids have a broad peak, so the shower is visible for several nights. On any given night, activity starts slowly in the evening but picks up by 11 p.m., when the radiant gets reasonably high in the sky. The meteor rate increases steadily through the night as the radiant rises higher, peaking just before the sky starts to get light, roughly 1½ to 2 hours before sunrise. This time exposure photo of New York City shows sky glow, one form of light pollution. ...

2007

The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the new-Moon night of Sunday–Monday, August 12–August 13 and can be seen from any place in the northern hemisphere. The Perseid meteors appear to stream away from their radiant near the border of Perseus and Cassiopeia. is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Perseus is a northern constellation, named after the Greek hero who slew the monster Medusa. ... Cassiopeia (IPA: ) is a northern constellation which Greek mythology considered to represent a vain queen who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. ...

The meteor rate, for an observer at a dark-sky site in the northern temperate latitudes, increases to roughly 30 per hour in the predawn hours on Saturday, 45 per hour on Sunday morning, and 80 per hour before the sky starts to get light on Monday morning.

See also

• Meteor showers
• List of meteor showers

A meteor shower, some of which are known as a meteor storm or meteor outburst, is a celestial event where a group of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the sky. ... Meteor showers ALPO meteor showers list SPA meteor showers list International Meteor Organization 2006 meteor shower calendar (Pdf) Categories: | ...

Notes

1. ^ In Greek mythology, the Perseids, who claimed Perseus for progenitor, were a dynasty at Argos.

The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... Coordinates 37°37′ N 22°43′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ...

External links

• NASA website on the Perseid shower of 2004
• NASA website on the Perseid shower of 2005
• NASA website on the Perseid shower of 2006
• NASA website on the Perseid shower of 2007
• Gary Kronk's Meteor Showers page
• animation of this event at Shadow and Substance.com