Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 8:55, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:40. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 10:27 this evening.

Back before astronomers recognized the major meteor shower that occurs at this time of year, the streaks of light in the sky of “falling” or “shooting” stars were called, by Christians, the Tears of Saint Lawrence, who was martyred on this day in the year 258. The bits of comet debris ranging in size from the size of sand grains to that of a pea hit our atmosphere at 38 miles (59 kilometers) per second and quickly vaporize due to friction, causing the streak of light we call meteors. They are called the Perseids since they appear to come from the constellation of Perseus, located in the northeastern sky. They will be best seen tomorrow night and into Thursday morning, with rates of up to one a minute, on average, in the early morning hours.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT – 4 hr). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Perseid Radiant finder automation for midnight, August 11th. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.

My best Perseid photo. From the 70s. The stars are trailed because this is a time exposure of perhaps 15 minutes and the camera is on a fixed tripod which rotates with the Earth.