Perseid Meteor Shower Star Party

Join us at the 4 mile marker on Pool Table Rd. and be prepared to be astonished by the amazing Perseid Meteor Shower. Bring a chair, binoculars, red-bulb flashlight to best savor the night sky! We’re also proposing a pot luck which will start at 7:30pm. Stay and camp! This is a weather dependent.

 We will be joined by local meteor expert, Dave Robinson, who will explain his work on tracking meteors in a worldwide effort to better understand them. He will begin speaking around 8pm. After that, we have local astronomer Terry Taddeucci who will set up a telescope with a video display. Official program will end at 11pm, but we encourage folks to camp and watch through the night as the rate of shooting stars is expected to increase late into the night. 

 The Perseids are active from July 17 to August 24. They reach a strong maximum on August 12 or 13, depending on the year. Normal rates seen from rural locations range from 50-75 shower members per hour at maximum. The Perseids are particles released from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle during its numerous returns to the inner solar system. They are called Perseids since the radiant (the area of the sky where the meteors seem to originate) is located near the prominent constellation of Perseus the hero when at maximum activity.

Shower details – Radiant: 03:12 +57.6° – ZHR: 100 – Velocity: 37 miles/sec (swift – 60km/sec) – Parent Object: 109P/Swift-Tuttle

Next Peak – The Perseids will next peak on the Aug 11-12, 2021 night. On this night, the moon will be 13% full.

Source:  https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/