A friend of mine asked me to write about the upcoming meteor shower that is going to take place on the 12th August, and so I thought why not? A bit of info: The Perseid shower starts roughly end of July and continues till mid August. It is only on the 12th August, is it the most prominent. 11th Night – 12th Morning to be exact

The Perseid meteor shower is probably the second brightest meteor shower in the entire year following the Leonid shower which is later in the year (winter time). It is treat to watch. I watched it last year, and I was quite surprised by the frequency of shooting stars jetting across the sky. And the best part is that, you don’t need a binocular or any other fancy equipment. A beach chair, a cold one and you are all set to enjoy the event.

• Why is it called the Perseid Meteor Shower?
  Well the shooting stars appear to come out of the Perseus constellation. Hence the name Perseid Meteor shower. It is usually a pretty bright spectacle. So if you can avoid downtown area and just drive to the outskirts of the city, you will be to see the meteor shower. The estimated time for the shower is around midnight. So it’s not too late. Plus the weather will be brilliant!
• How do I know if I am far enough from the city, and will I be able to see the meteor shower?
  Well if you can see the stars of the Little Dipper – The constellation containing the Polaris (locating it is explained in my previous post), then you know that you are located in a relatively dark area of town. Now you just need to adjust your eyes to the darkness, and have some patience. Put some music on, and have the chips ready for the show
• Where do I locate the Perseus constellation?
  The Perseus constellation is pretty bright constellation, so it should be easy to locate it in the sky. Look for the Cassiopeia (The Queen constellation). which looks like a a Big M / W. The Perseus is located right next to it.
  The simplest way to locate Cassiopeia is to draw a line joining the first star of the Big Dipper to the Pole Star – RED LINE
  Continue extending it further to meet the W – YELLOW LINE
  Take a 90* right detour to meet Perseus constellation – BLUE LINE
  

  Perseus

• What does the Perseus constellation look like?
  Well the closest it resembles in an inverted Y. The most distinctive feature is the end of the constellation representing two legs. They sort of curl away from the rest of the body of stars. It is very easy to spot. The brightest star is Mirphak, located at the centre of the constellation.

Here is where you will see a majority of the meteors. The meteors are result to space dust falling into the orbit of the earth. They most probably are remnants of an old comet or other debris.

I hope this post has piqued some interest in going out there and seeing the shower.

Cheers

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PS – To finish off with a-Pun ka style!

What would all women carry with them if they went on 12th August to watch the shower? Their Perseus

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