Meteorologists are again predicting lots of clouds over Germany for the peak of the meteor shower. Nevertheless, NASA and amateur astronomers from all over the world will be broadcasting the phenomenon via live stream.
Next week, on the nights of August 11 and 13, one of the most beautiful and spectacular natural phenomena will be visible in the German sky. Or rather not, as it turns out. Fittingly for this strange summer, the weather across Germany will block the Perseids during their peak.
Every year, on the nights around August 12, the Tears of St. Lawrence – as they are also known – can be seen shining in the sky at a rate of around 100 shooting stars per hour. The origin of this phenomenon is the disintegration products left behind by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle on its orbit around the sun. August 12 is the date on which the Earth always crosses the center of the comet’s dust trail.
In the days before and after, the dust particles hit the atmosphere at high speed and cause the air molecules to glow. This goes so far that these apparent fireballs often even reach the brightness of Venus. They are called Perseids because they appear to originate from the constellation of the same name, Perseus, near the border with Cassiopeia.
This is how you can observe the Perseids this year:
If the meteorologists are wrong – and that wouldn’t be the first time – and the weather cooperates, the shooting stars are best observed in a place protected from light pollution between 11 pm and 4 am.
But if everything goes wrong, you don’t have to miss the meteor shower. NASA will be broadcasting the phenomenon live from the Marshall Space Flight Center on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at 3-10 a.m. UTC. That means: from 05 to 12 in Germany.
So you just have to get up a little later to watch the stars – or actually a little earlier than usual. The question now remains as to whether it is right to make a wish with a streamed shooting star.