Thursday Night 'This Summer's Biggest Space Show' Unfolds

National Gwacheon Science Museum "Perseus Meteor Shower Forecast"
About 110 meteors expected to rain down on Earth, best observation in 3 years
Visible from 10 PM to 4 AM in places without light pollution

Reference photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] On the night of the 12th, the biggest space show of this summer will unfold. The most meteors in three years will shower down.

The Gwacheon National Science Museum announced on the 9th that the Perseids meteor shower is expected to pour from the 12th until the early morning of the next day. Especially, it will be the best observation condition since 2018, allowing the most meteors to be seen.

Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through (orbits) debris left in the orbit of comets or asteroids caused by solar wind. Every year, between July 17 and August 24, the Earth passes through the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle (109P/Swift-Tuttle) comet, and the meteor shower occurring at this time is called the "Perseids meteor shower." Many more meteors fall intensively during this period compared to usual. The Perseids meteor shower is named because the radiant point of the meteors is in the constellation Perseus, and it is considered one of the three major meteor showers of the year along with the Quadrantids (in Draco) in January and the Geminids in December. It is also famous for bright and spectacular shooting stars.

The International Meteor Organization (IMO) forecasts the peak of this year's Perseids meteor shower around 4 a.m. on the 13th. It is expected that up to 110 meteors per hour can be observed. Especially, this year's Perseids meteor shower shows optimal observation conditions with no moon visible during the observation time, which is the first time in three years since 2018. If the weather is clear, it is expected to be the best space show of this summer.

Meteors appear and disappear instantly and are easier to see when the sky is darker, so it is important to find a place with no surrounding lights and an open view. Since meteors fall around the Perseus constellation in all directions, observing the wide sky with the naked eye for a long time will allow you to see more meteors. This year's Perseids meteor shower is best observed from after 10 p.m. when the moon sets until 5 a.m. the next day before sunrise.

The Gwacheon Science Museum will dispatch an observation team to the Yanggu National Land Central Observatory located in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do, one of the best observatories in Korea with the clearest and cleanest meteor shower viewing conditions, to broadcast the event. It is far from city lights and has an open northeast direction, making it the optimal place to observe the Perseids meteor shower. There is also a nearby campground, making it an excellent place to spend leisure time with family while stargazing.

The live broadcast will be held from 10 p.m. on the 12th until 4 a.m. the next day on the Gwacheon Science Museum YouTube channel. During the broadcast, scientific principles of meteors, observation and photography methods, and photos of the Perseids meteor shower taken from around the world will be introduced.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.