|
. | . |
|
by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Aug 23, 2011
The summer's best meteor shower peaked on the weekend of Aug. 12-13. Even though the Perseids were hampered by a bright, full moon they were something to behold! The Perseids have been observed for about 2,000 years. The source of the annual meteor shower is the debris trail left behind comet Swift-Tuttle. Each year in August, the Earth passes through a cloud of the comet's debris. These bits of ice and dust burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Most of the Perseid meteors that we observe now were ejected from Swift-Tuttle about 1,000 years ago. Marshall's meteor camera network captured some of the meteors or "shooting stars" during the peak. On the night of Aug. 12-13, NASA astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from the Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center observed the peak of the Perseid shower via a live Web chat. You can read a transcript of the web chat (PDF, 550 Kb) to learn more about the Perseids: what creates them, their composition, how old they are, how fast they travel and other fascinating facts.
Related Links Meteoroid Environment Office Asteroid and Comet Impact Danger To Earth - News and Science
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |