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Comet dust will burn up at over 200,000 km/h and observers can make a wish with every shooting star.
Midsummer time is shooting star time: As every year around August 12, the legendary Perseids swarm promises countless shooting stars these days.
It’s worth taking a look at the sky in the coming nights. The Perseids meteor shower can be observed in the night sky for a long time until almost the end of August. Some of these shooting stars can already be seen, and the spectacle should reach its peak on the night of August 12-13.
What are the Perseids?
The Perseids are a meteor shower that recurs every year in the first half of August. During this time, the Earth crosses the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. This orbits the sun on an elliptical path and approaches it every 133 years.
How do shooting stars form?
Shooting stars are formed when the particles, which are usually only millimetres in size and weigh up to one milligram, enter the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of around 90 to 130 kilometers. Their speed is over 200,000 km/h. At this speed, the particles burn up and also cause the air molecules in the surrounding area to glow.
- source: heute.at/picture: pixabay.com
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