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Tribune News Network
Doha
'PERSEID meteor shower' is expected to illuminate the sky from the evening of Sunday, August 12, 2018, to dawn of Monday, August 13, and residents of Northern Hemisphere, including Qatar, will get a good opportunity to observe the spectacle, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) stated on Friday.
Astronomy expert at QCH Dr Beshir Marzouk said that Perseid meteor shower is usually active every year from July 23 to August 24, while its peak will be starting from evening of August 12, till dawn of August 13. Moreover, Perseid meteor shower is one of the important meteor showers seen from Earth, where, according to astronomy experts, the average rate of showers flow is 100 Perseid meteors per hour.
"Residents in Qatar and countries in Northern Hemisphere would not require an astronomical instrument to witness Perseid meteor shower. They can see it with their naked eyes from places without light and environment pollutions (pure sky), and darker places. They only need to look towards the northeast direction of sky. Moreover, they can take a nice photograph of Perseid meteor shower by using digital cameras, but they must increase the exposure time of the camera while taking a photograph to get the best visuals," Dr Marzouk added.
Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris from 'Swift-Tuttle Comet', where the Earth passes through dust and debris it leaves behind in the last week of July till mid-August every year.
Astronomers and astronomy amateurs will have a good chance to observe Perseid meteor this year because the 'age of the Moon' will be two-day old at the peak of Perseid meteor showers. So, the Moon will not appear over the sky during night time, where the set time of Moon will be at 7:12pm Doha local time.
The best time for observing Perseid meteor shower is midnight till dawn, while the best location is a dark place without any light pollution.
