Perseids (redirected from Perseid meteor shower)

Perseids (pûr`sēĭdz'): see meteor shower.

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Perseids [′pər·sē·ədz]

(astronomy)

A meteor shower whose radiant lies in the constellation Perseus; it reaches a maximum about August 12.

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Perseids

Visibility peaks around August 10-12

Meteors, also called shooting stars or falling stars, are seen as streaks of light in the sky that result when a small chunk of stony or metallic matter enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes. A meteor shower occurs when a number of meteors enters the Earth's atmosphere at approximately the same time and place. The shower's name is usually derived from the constellation (or a star within it) from which the shower appears to originate.
Since the year 36 c.e. there have been records of an annual meteor shower known as the Perseids (because it appears to originate in the constellation Perseus) that is most observable during the nights of August 10-12. Observers everywhere except the South Pole can see as many as 60 meteors an hour streak across the sky on what is often referred to as the Night of the Shooting Stars .

CONTACTS:
American Meteor Society
44017 Woodland Ct.
Callahan, FL 32011
904-879-2646
www.amsmeteors.org

SOURCES:
BkHolWrld-1986, Aug 11

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Perseids 

a meteor stream with radiant in the constellation Perseus. The Perseids are observed from July 25 to August 20, with maximum occuring on August 12. Associated with Comet 1862 III, they are the first meteor stream for which a connection with a comet was found—by G. Schiaparelli in 1866. The Perseids are one of the most active annual showers that are observable by visual or photographic means. The stream is relatively poor in small meteors, a fact that can be explained by the comparatively small amount of fine particles in the meteor swarm. The stream has a complex structure and is divided into several branches. The Perseids have been known since the year 830.