Perseids. Before us a downpour of shooting stars (video) – Polish Radio

  Perseids , photo: ESO / S. Guisard / Wikimedia Commons
 

– This is what seems to us a shooting star, in fact, is just a speck of dust, often no larger than a grain of sand. It falls into the Earth’s atmosphere and friction for it warms up, is burned and the trail of such a process we see in the sky as a short, quick flash – popularizer of astronomy, says Charles Wojcicki of the planetarium sky Copernicus Copernicus Science Centre (CSC) in Warsaw.

Falling stars are called meteors professionally. The most – from 80 to 100 per hour – they can be seen at night from 12 to 13 August. The sky occurs most popular meteor shower called Perseidami.

Meteora, which in August appear in the sky, owe their name gwiazdozbiorowi Perseus. This constellation, which in Polish can watch through the night over the eastern horizon. It is from the direction of the constellation “fly” appearing in the sky Perseids. – Looking for shooting stars, but do not look in that direction.

 

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Meteors will appear to him to several tens of degrees to the left, right and up. The best solution is to just lie down on a blanket or a lounger and gaze cover the greatest area of ​​the sky – advises Wojcicki.

Although the meteors best observed from suburban areas are urban dwellers also do not have to sacrifice. Just see only the brightest.

This year the conditions for the observation will be somewhat difficult because peak swarm falls two days after the full moon.

(ew / PAP-Science in Poland)