Perseids 2018

Description:

We call “Perseids” the meteors (shooting stars) which all seem to come from the same point in the sky (radiant) in the constellation Perseus. They can be seen for a period of about 1 month, between July 20 and August 25, while the Earth, in its orbit around the Sun, passes through debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle at each of its passages during its 130-year orbit. The density of the debris along this “ribbon” which is also in orbit varies greatly. This is why the level of activity of the Perseids is unpredictable from year to year. Except that the different densities are starting to be listed and mapped and we can now sometimes predict bursts of activity. The maximum usually occurs around August 12 or August 3.