Do not go to bed early over the next couple of nights, as late July offers some of the best time to see meteors in the night sky.
Meteors are small space rocks burning up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. Tennessee Tech Physics and Astronomy Professor Steve Robinson said the conditions for the next couple of nights are ideal for seeing the phenomenon.
“So it just happens that at the end of July, we have a confluence of three meteor showers happening at the same time,” Robinson said. “And also, the conditions for viewing them will be good because the moon will not be bright on those nights.”
Robinson said meteors appear as streaks of light and only last a few seconds. Robinson said light pollution may hinder visibility and that finding a spot outside of town is the best place to see meteors.
“State parks and places like that would be good places and better places to see meteors than in town, Robinson said. “Unfortunately, I have to tell people that the best time to see them is after midnight. For one, because the moon will still be up before midnight. But secondly, just because of the way the interaction between the Earth and the meteor showers happens. We just tend to see more of them in the early morning hours.”
Robinson said he believes what makes seeing meteors so fascinating is the connection we have between people and what’s out in the solar system.
“You know, normally we are used to the sky not changing,” Robinson said. “The stars are always there, the planets are always there. But these meteors appear very briefly. As I say, for only a second or two, and so I think it’s fascinating for us to think about, you know, there are things out there that are changing very rapidly, and we tend to forget about that and think about the sky as being something that is always there.”
Robinson said meteor showers are debris from comets that orbit the sun. Robinson said people should not use their phones to try and take pictures of comets since they appear briefly. Robinson suggested using a camera on a tripod and taking long exposure pictures.