CEDAR CITY — Following up the intense brightness of supermoon on Sunday, stargazers can once again look to the skies for another annual cosmic event: the Perseid meteor shower.
According to NASA’s website, larger meteor showers like the Perseids are caused when Earth travels through a region where small debris of the comet Swift-Tuttle are located. Once passing into Earth’s atmosphere, the ice and dust that once made up the comet burn up and create one of the larger meteor showers of the year.
The Perseid meteor showers peak each year around Aug. 11-12 and are best seen in the Northern Hemisphere. Those planning to search for the meteors should direct their eyes to just below the star constellation Cassiopeia and to the left of the constellation Perseus.
While the meteor shower is able to be seen without the use of a telescope, telescopes will provide viewers with a better chance of seeing the true beauty the event.
The National Park Service will be hosting a star party in celebration of the Perseid meteor shower. The public is invited to gather at Cedar Breaks National Monument at 9 p.m., where use of several telescopes will be facilitated by the park staff and other volunteers. Guests are also invited to bring their own telescopes if they wish.
In the event of inclement weather, the star party may be canceled. Those planning to attend are encouraged to call the Cetar Breaks Visitors Center with any questions they have regarding the event.
For those unable to attend the event at Cedar Breaks, NASA is providing a Ustream and live chat event where the public can view video of the meteor shower over the Marshall Space Flight Center. Three members of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office will also be on hand to answer questions from viewers via a live Web-chat.
The Ustream video of the meteor shower is set to begin at 7:30 p.m., with the live web-chat beginning at 9 p.m.
Resources
- NASA Website
- National Park Service Star Parties | 435-586-0787
- Ustream and Live Chat
Related Posts
- Supermoon rises at sunset; earth, moon get intimate
- Full moon rising, tonight beams first of 3 summer supermoons
- Shoot the supermoon 2013; STGnews Photo Gallery, submissions invited
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.
Good luck seeing it through the slightly-less-than-super-but-still-very-bright-moon.
The moon wasn’t a problem at all, it turns out. It was completely blocked by the clouds (along with all of the stars). Too bad, I really enjoy the Perseids…
Is it just me, or has it been cloudy for EVERY even this year?!
Why are there never any star parties in the St. George area?
Too much light! To make matters worse, I live in Southgate near all the bright lights at those car dealerships. However, I went up to Cedar Breaks for the star party last year and had a good time.