Perseid meteor shower to light up the night skies

London, Aug 12: The Perseid meteor shower, which is considered as one of the highlights of the astronomical calendar, promises to be bigger and better this year.

The celestial light show, predicted to be one of best seen in recent history, is expected to light up the skies on Thursday, Aug 12 night.

Astronomers have said that the sky-gazers can see as many as 10 shooting stars an hour. As for the visibility, the meteor shower this year is expected to be visible even in areas of light pollution.

As earth moves through the trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet in Aug every year, the earthlings are treated to the view of Perseid meteors.

Tiny particles of debris left by a comet thrusting into the atmosphere at 135,000 mph cause bright streaks of light in the skies.

The streaks made up of particles that range from the size of a grain of sand to a pea will be seen sailing through the skies for a couple of seconds before they fade away.

"Relax, be patient, and let your eyes adapt to the dark. With a little luck you'll see a shooting star every minute or so on average," Robert Naeye, editor of Sky and Telescope magazine, is quoted as saying in The Guardian.

OneIndia News