By Writing with Belga
18 hours ago
The Perseids starry night is expected to take place from Friday to Monday, peaking this Saturday.
Astronomy enthusiasts will be scanning the Belgian sky over the next few days on the occasion of the Perseids, this swarm of shooting stars which illuminates space between mid-July and mid-August. It is indeed around August 12 that the meteor shower is most intense. On this occasion, Star Nights are organized in the country to admire the celestial work.
During the night from Saturday to Sunday, thanks to favorable weather conditions, 38 to 50 shooting stars can be observed per hour. The best observation time, with the greatest number of stars, is Sunday at 04:00. We can then observe about 44 shooting stars per hour. The peak, from 48 to 65 meteorites per hour, will be reached on Sunday afternoon, a period not conducive to observation. Most will be seen below the constellation Cassiopeia, in the northeast sky around midnight, and near the constellation Perseus, from which the meteors get their name.
Several events in Wallonia
On this occasion, several events are planned in Belgium to follow this celestial event in the best conditions. The Euro Space Center is offering a Night of the Stars this Thursday August 10 in Transinne (province of Luxembourg). The SparkOH! scientific adventure park, in Frameries (Hainaut), is organizing a similar evening, also free, on the night of August 12 to 13. The French-speaking federation of amateur astronomers of Belgium (FFAAB) also reveals on its site a dozen clubs in Wallonia and Brussels which organize free observations during this auspicious period in the sky.
The Perseids are the most spectacular meteor shower of the year. This is debris generated by comet Swift-Tuttle which, approaching the sun, releases particles behind it. These particles, on approaching the Earth’s atmosphere, heat up and light up, causing these light trails.
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