This year's Perseids will be accompanied by a full moon

Every summer, the Perseids, a shower of shooting stars, make their annual spectacular appearance in the August skies of the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the phenomenon coincides with the magnificent August full moon, which is expected to affect its visibility but not eclipse it, reports the Cyprus Space Exploration Organization (CSEO).

He notes that the Perseid phenomenon begins each year in mid-July and lasts until the end of August, peaking around August 10-12. It is considered one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, as their "shooting stars" are exceptionally fast and bright, often with long fiery tails. Their name comes from the fact that they appear to fall from the region of the constellation Perseus, which is located towards the northeast, depending on the time.

These are dust particles left behind by the huge tail of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle which, during its passage every 133 years, crosses the Earth's orbit. Its last close pass was in 1992, and the next is expected in 2126. When Earth passes through the comet's wake, these meteors enter its atmosphere, are accelerated by gravity, and ignite due to their overheating and friction with atmospheric particles, at which point they begin to become visible to observers.

“This year's timing of the Perseid peak with the full moon on August 11 will affect visibility, with the moon's brightness allowing only the brightest Perseids to be observed. In practice, this means that instead of the expected around 100 per hour, the number drops significantly, around 25-50 per hour,” he notes.

The Organization suggests to the public to choose a spot preferably outside the city and away from areas with light pollution, with as wide a field of view as possible as the darker the part of the monitoring, the more impressive the sight will be.

Therefore, he suggests that during the observation, the use of mobile phones and other light sources should be avoided since they will affect the night vision.

“A comfortable seat, mattress or pillow will contribute to comfortable observation and enjoyment of the evening. Although you don't need any special equipment like a telescope or binoculars to observe the Perseids, it still allows you to observe the moon and the rest of the sky."

On the occasion of this year's conjunction of the two astronomical phenomena on August 11, the Cyprus Space Exploration Organization, in collaboration with Riverland Bio Farm, is organizing a night excursion to Kampia to observe the Perseids, as well as the moon with a telescope. As he says, the evening will start at 19:30 with a short tour of the farm and preparation of halloumi. At 20:30, the documentary 'Star Stuff' (in English) will be shown, directed by Milad Tangshir, which takes the audience on a journey to three remote deep space observatories while telling the stories of the local communities living alongside them. Admission is free and attendees can bring their own picnic.

Source: KYPE