Venus and Jupiter appear close in the sky as summer's best meteor shower peaks soon

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00:00Now, stargazers will soon get to see one of the year's most dazzling displays with purse-seed meteor shower reaching its peak.

00:09They light up the skies each summer and are known for the bright, fast-moving meteors, often dubbed shooting stars.

00:16The purse-seeds are visible to the naked eye, but local weather is set to play a major role.

00:21Now, for more on this story, we can bring in Walter Stoddart, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Science Centre.

00:27Thank you so much for joining us on the program today.

00:30So what exactly is the purse-seed meteor shower, and why is it considered one of the best?

00:37It's my pleasure to join you.

00:38Now, the purse-seeds are often very exciting because they are often our most numerous meteor shower.

00:45You get the most meteors that become visible, and also they can be large enough to create large streaks across the sky.

00:53And even fireballs are known to be experienced and seen during the purse-seed meteor shower.

01:00The trouble with this year is actually the full moon.

01:04We're just past the full moon.

01:07There will be a moon in the sky about 85% full, and so that will add a lot of light.

01:14So some of the fainter meteors we won't be able to see.

01:18And that's part of the challenge with this year's purse-seed meteor shower.

01:22The brighter ones, we still might be able to spot.

01:24Normally, that would mean we would see perhaps between one every minute.

01:30Sometimes there can be as much as 100 streaks an hour.

01:35If predictions are correct, about 24%, 25% will still be visible.

01:41So we're down to maybe one every five minutes, one every four minutes.

01:46It's still worth watching.

01:48It's still worth taking that opportunity to see if you can see a shooting star.

01:53But the chances are a little slimmer with the full moon up.

01:58Now, in Paris, as well as in other places around the world, if you look before the full moon comes up,

02:04you have a chance of perhaps seeing more than you would when the moon is high in the sky.

02:12Okay.

02:13Probably around...

02:14No, go ahead.

02:16I thought you were going to give us a time to look at it.

02:20It was.

02:21And so often we say the best time to look is between midnight and dawn.

02:25That's true for most meteor showers when the constellation, in this case, Perseus, where the radiant that it appears to be coming from.

02:37But when it's low in the sky, it'll be in the north-northeast around 10.20, 10.25 in Paris, local time,

02:47or where I am in Canada, Ontario, around 10 p.m.

02:52And before the moon comes up, look to the north-northeast, and you might have a better chance of catching a few more meteors.

03:00Okay.

03:01I'm noting it down.

03:0210.25, look to the northeast.

03:04First thing, then why are they called Perseids?

03:10Ah, very good.

03:10So they're named for the constellation from which they appear to come from.

03:17And so we have, for example, later in October, the Orionids from the constellation Orion,

03:22and so from the constellation Perseus is where we are seeing these meteors emerge.

03:29And it's just where they appear to come from because of our path through the solar system.

03:34If people, I know that it can be seen by the naked eye for most of them,

03:40but if you have special equipment, you could suggest?

03:42Well, it doesn't have to be too special.

03:47And part of the challenge is we are looking at, we're looking for shooting stars, meteors streaking across the sky.

03:55So if you focus your attention too intently, you may miss some of the ones that are in different directions.

04:03But a pair of binoculars is probably as strong modification or magnification as you might need.

04:10You don't have to get too intense when you're talking about a meteor shower.

04:14Are there pockets of the world that get a better view than others?

04:20That's a great question.

04:21Right now, we're looking at the Perseids in the northern hemisphere mostly.

04:27Each meteor shower, and in fact, if you look up all the various meteor showers,

04:32we have predictable meteor showers over the course of the entire year.

04:36And there are some that are more visible in the southern hemisphere, more visible in the northern hemisphere.

04:41It's very dependent on your local weather.

04:44Clouds will obstruct the sky regardless of what you're trying to see.

04:47So a lot of clouds or a lot of haze in the air, and that will limit your view as well.

04:52And so very dependent on local weather.

04:54As you mentioned, here in the northern hemisphere is perhaps the best for the Perseid meteor shower.

05:04And so anywhere across the globe where the weather clears between, well, tonight is the peak,

05:11August 12th this evening, this night is perhaps the peak for this meteor shower.

05:17But don't fear, again, they're periodic.

05:19We're passing through the tail of a comet, or at least the debris that's been left behind by the swift-tuttle comet.

05:27And that's what creates this particular meteor shower.

05:30And so there's, as I say, a number of them over the course of the calendar year that we can plan for

05:35and anticipate when we might be going through another debris field, if you will,

05:40where the dust and those small rocks might be entering our atmosphere again.

05:44Walter, very briefly, it's going to be my first time looking up at a meteor shower.

05:49Do you have any advice for me?

05:53Well, pay attention to your local weather.

05:57If it's going to be a cool night, maybe take a blanket.

06:00You need to let your eyes adjust to the dark.

06:03You want to find a place where there isn't a lot of light.

06:05As I say, the moonlight is going to be a problem, but also streetlights.

06:09Any other light that might be man-made is going to be a trouble as well.

06:13So you've got to find a place where it's dark.

06:16You're going to wait maybe a few minutes, maybe 20 minutes or so,

06:19until your eyes adjust to the nightlight so that you can see those fainter shooting stars.

06:24Okay, I'm going to try and find a dark spot in Paris,

06:27but with all the streetlights everywhere, it's going to be complicated.

06:29Thank you so much, Walter.

06:31Stodart, for joining us on the program today.

06:34You're welcome.

06:35My pleasure.

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