2023-08-11 18:51:10
Par Yona Baron
Published on August 11, 23 at 20:51 See my news Follow News The Perseid peak will take place on the night of August 12 to 13, 2023. (©H/W / Adobe Stock)
“The Perseids”. As poetic as its name, this annual astronomical phenomenon of shooting star showers will be particularly observable on the nights of August 11, 12 and 13, 2023. In fact, they have even started appearing in the sky since the end of July, but now is where the spectacle is awe-inspiring.
The peak of the Perseids will take place in the night from Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 August“between 11 p.m. on August 12 and two or three in the morning on August 13”, specifies Gilles Dawidowicz, vice-president of the Astronomical Society of France and President of the Planetology Commission, contacted by actu.fr.
In summer, the Earth crosses a cloud of debris which causes what is called a swarm, causing these famous shooting stars. It is therefore the ideal period to look up to the sky.
How do the Perseids occur?
The Perseids, “is the meeting of dust from comets which passed more or less far from the Earth a long time ago and which leave behind them a trail of gas and dust called a ‘torus'”, explains Gilles Dawidowicz.
This dust moves at 58 km/second, which produces energy and will generate this luminous effect.
Gilles DawidowiczVice-president of the Astronomical Society of France
Every year in August, the Earth encounters this torus and the debris left by the comet appears as meteors in our sky. It’s the comet 109P Swift-Tuttle which is at the origin of the shower of shooting stars that you will observe.
« Swift-Tuttle met 133 years circling the Sun. Its last passage dates from 1992 and it will return on July 12, 2126.” The trail it leaves behind it “lasts with more or less material”.
Why do the Perseids always take place in August?
If this phenomenon occurs in August, it is quite simply that the comet is like all the planets, it revolves around the sun. “It is therefore quite stable, which means that every year, the Perseids fall at the same time”, explains Gilles Dawidowicz. While planets make a circle, comets have a rather oval trajectory.
How to observe them well?
The show is about to begin around 10:30-11 p.m., once it gets dark. And to enjoy it, you don’t need binoculars, the Perseids are visible to the naked eye.
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Depending on the years, 70 to 110 shooting stars occur per hour at peak time, reminds Stelvision.
The golden rule does not change. For good visibility, “you need a clear horizon”, but above all “to move away from light pollution”, recalls Gilles Dawidowicz. So obviously, the sea, the mountains or the countryside are the ideal spots.
The shower of shooting stars will take place all over the sky, but we can look more towards the northeast.
Gilles DawidowiczVice-president of the Astronomical Society of France
The moon on our side
And this year, we are doubly lucky since the moon is on our side! “The crescent moon will be very thin and therefore will not light up the sky too much”, underlines the vice-president of the Astronomical Society of France.
This is an opportunity to take photos with your smartphone and make wishes!
Gilles DawidowiczVice-president of the Astronomical Society of France
The Perseids will still remain observable the following nights, until August 24in decreasing numbers.
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