Meteors to put up show in August -- PAGASA
By Blanche Rivera
Inquirer
Last updated 11:45am (Mla time) 08/03/2006
IF the sky can be clear for a night in August, let it be on the eve of the 13th.
The famous Perseids meteor shower will make a show of “shooting stars” late at night on August 12 until dawn the following day if the sky condition permits, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has said.
“August is one of the most popular times of the year to observe meteor showers,” PAGASA said in its August astronomical diary.
“Occasionally, an exceptional shower may show tens or even hundreds of meteors per minute, but [seeing] around 50 meteors per hour is more typical,” the weather bureau said.
PAGASA astronomy chief Cynthia P. Celebre said that of around 10 meteor showers every year, the Perseid meteor shower, which would be seen from August 10 to 14, was the most reliable.
The Perseids meteor shower radiates out from the constellation Perseus, located in the eastern horizon this time of the year. A radiant is a specific star, which is the source of light of the meteors.
“The problem is that August is also a rainy month so people do not notice the shower. If it rains, there’s nothing to see,” Celebre told the Inquirer in a phone interview Wednesday.
Meteors are easiest to spot by the naked eye if there is no moonlight and light pollution. Meteors in a shower appear to come from one area of the sky, but they melt as soon as they enter the earth’s atmosphere due to extreme heat, Celebre said.
Should the sky cooperate this month, meteors will not be the only visible heavenly bodies in the night. Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, and Jupiter would be more easily sighted, PAGASA said.
At 7 p.m. on August 29, Jupiter will be found 38 degrees above the southwestern horizon and will lie among the faint stars of the constellation Libra, the Scales, PAGASA said.
“The largest planet will be … the brightest object in the evening sky throughout the month. It will appear 37 seconds of an arc,” PAGASA said.
Hello to all from PI , pls take note the dates that shown above..meteors shower are coming....so lets just hope that it wont rain at that time so we can see it clearly....
