(Photo by Paul Evans) Don't worry, Chicken Little, the sky is not falling. Those streaks overhead aren't acorns, they're the Perseids -- tiny grains of sand and bits of cosmic debris exploding into our atmosphere at 132,000 miles per hour. Every August they radiate from the constellation Perseus as our planet passes through a cloud of ethereal dust and pebbles stripped from the comet Swift-Tuttle. No need to run and tell the king! Kings have known for centuries about these shooting stars, with the earliest record found in Chinese annals from 36 A.D. Mythologically, meteors have been thought to topple civilizations, but the Perseids will bring us nothing more than a good excuse to stay out late on a summer night. The best place to see them is away from city lights, with a clear view of the eastern sky. So gather up your friends, and train your eyes on the stars -- the shower will peak tonight, from 2 a.m. until dawn. Suggested Sites... The Tears of Saint Lawrence - superstition has surrounded the Perseids for centuries. Could they really be the burning tears of a Christian martyr? Fireball Videos - when things larger than the Perseids fall from the sky. Scary Meteor Sounds - observers used to think that hearing a meteor was all in their heads, until magnetic spaghetti was found. The Night Sky Live - catch the fisheye view from around the globe.

Directory categories: Perseid Meteor Shower, Astronomy, Light Pollution

Archived under: Astronomy, Mythology and Folklore, Science, Summer

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