Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Perseid Meteor Shower - Aug 8 to 14


If you do a search on google.com today, you will come across this Google logo. And if you just mouse over the logo, it says Perseid Meteor Shower.

Yes, we are now in the midst of a meteor shower, Perseid's and today, August 12, is actually around the peak of the shower. According to Wikipedia, The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14, peaking about August 12. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere.

Happy meteor-gazing..



Latest from The Star: Malaysians will be able to sight up to a total of 100 Perseid meteors per hour streaking across the northern sky in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The meteor shower is expected to be best viewed from 1.30am to 4am on Thursday.

Those who miss tomorrow’s meteor shower may still catch a “lesser version” after midnight Thursday, or early Friday morning.

The meteor shower can be observed with the naked eye.

11 comments:

  1. I did see google frontpage this morning. That's interesting, I wonder if I can see it from here though, will try late tonight :o)

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  2. Oh yeah, I forgot, I saw you mentioning about kueh-chap. By any chance you're from sarawak? Or were you just visiting when you ate the kueh-chap?

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  3. Even if it's happening here, the haze would have shrouded it. Yeah, we are still having hazy skies over KL. It would be awesome to be able to see the meteor shower.

    I'm not from Sarawak. I just have fond memories of eating that dish. Kinda reminded me of kuey teow soup as both are made from rice flour.

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  4. Will my wish be granted?

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  5. I had that same thought when I came to the end of the post.

    Give it a shot, KS. Nothing to lose, eh? Good luck!

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  6. Too bad we can't see such wonderful meteor showers in Malaysia! If not, I can make a wish! : )

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  7. We were supposed to be able to see them early this morning but it was raining plus the sky was hazy.

    Make a wish? That's a nice thought.

    You know, you could still do that at the fountain at Pavilion. Have you seen it?

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  8. Everytime I see the word "meteors", I wonder if any will hit the Earth and cause huge damage.

    So ya, I'm not pretty excited about them.

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  9. Shingo, you have a point there but I'd like to think these showers are just very light drizzles of stardust? Besides, we've been having this phenomenon every August. So there..

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  10. Anonymous10:28 PM

    Will those in Kuching be able to see em? I really want.....

    @SHingo : No. Barely any of those meteors will touch the earth coz it consists of mostly ice and will evaporate quickly even bofore it touches the ground. (Source : NTV7)

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  11. Anonymous1:46 AM

    Would love to witness it myself tonight but it's kind of cloudy over here in Tanjong Tualang :(

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