Perseid Meteor Shower to Light Up Groningen Skies
Perseid Meteor Shower to Light Up Groningen Skies
If you sit outside on a warm summer evening after the sun has set, you might spot shooting stars in the Groningen sky. The Perseid meteor shower will be visible again on Monday, August 12.
Shooting stars are flashes of light that occasionally appear in the night sky. These flashes are caused by space debris, often no larger than a grain of sand, entering the Earth's atmosphere about 100 kilometres above us. The high speeds cause the air in front of the debris to compress, heat up, and glow, which we see as a flash of light.
Next week, especially on the night of Monday, August 12 to Tuesday, August 13, you will have the chance to witness this spectacular natural event. According to Weeronline, dozens of meteors can be seen per hour, making it a perfect opportunity for star gazing.
For the best view of the shooting stars, you will need to stay up late or set an early alarm. According to the website Hemel.waarnemen, the peak time to spot the stars is on the night of August 12 to 13 at 3:45 am. You can expect to see around 40 to 55 meteors per hour in a dark and clear sky.
Shooting stars can also be seen on the two nights before and after August 13, but in smaller numbers. These meteors are visible to the naked eye, and the best place to view them is from a dark location, such as Kardinge.
The shooting stars are part of the Perseid meteor shower, which is a swarm of meteors consisting of debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle. Because the Earth moves through this debris cloud in its orbit around the sun, we see this meteor shower every year around the same date.
The speeds of the Perseid meteors are impressive: about 59 kilometres per second, which is approximately 213,840 kilometres per hour. The Perseids are known for their brightness and speed, and sometimes you can even see a plume of light trailing behind the shooting star.