In August, the sky will offer one of the year's most beautiful sights, the Perseid meteor shower, visible only once a year. Astronomers advise watching it on August 11, 12, and 13 away from city lights. The Irkutsk Planetarium invites astronomy lovers to telescope observations, where you can see the Perseids, Uranus, comets, nebulae, and distant galaxies.
August is astronomers’ favorite month. In this month, the sky turns into a magical picture. There are the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, Cassiopeia, the Northern Crown, and shooting stars, as well as such an unusual natural phenomenon as the Perseids. By the way, it can be observed only once a year.- Right now our planet is passing through a meteor stream of particles from Comet Swift-Tuttle; it broke apart in ancient times, leaving behind such a beautiful trail, - explains Sergei Yazev, director of the ISU astronomical observatory.
Meteors appear from the direction of the constellation Perseus, which is why the stream is called the Perseids. It consists of tiny dust particles that are far apart from one another. When they enter Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up, leaving behind a white-silver glowing streak of light. It is this process that many people take for shooting stars.
Since Earth passes through the stream for an entire month, meteors can be observed almost every day. Although the most beautiful sky show, astronomers promise, will take place over the next three nights — August 11, 12, and 13.
Where is the best place to watch the Perseids? Of course, outside the city, where artificial light does not interfere. No special equipment, such as binoculars, protective glass, or glasses, is needed. Meteors are not an eclipse and pose no danger to eyesight. So watch without fear.
- Meteors burn up almost once a minute, - adds Sergei Arkturovich. – You will definitely see at least one.
Scientists will also be watching the meteor shower. It will be tracked and photographs of this unique natural phenomenon will be taken from the Baikal Observatory, which is located in Listvyanka. Now the main thing is that the weather does not let us down. If the sky is covered with clouds, we will not see the sky show.
You can watch the meteors together with scientists.
The Irkutsk Planetarium, especially for those interested in celestial bodies, is organizing field excursions from August 11 to 17, at the peak of the Perseid stream. By the way, you can see not only them, but also Uranus and comets, objects of the Milky Way galaxy (globular clusters, planetary nebulae, double stars), the Andromeda Nebula, and distant galaxies. An experienced observing astronomer will help star enthusiasts. And the equipment will be telescopes with diameters of 200 and 300 millimeters.
- We chose a spot that is almost ideally suited for observations — this is the 73rd kilometer of the Kultuk Tract, a hill near the village of Glubokoye, - said Pavel Nikiforov, an employee of the Irkutsk Planetarium. – This place is far from the city, and there are no objects nearby that would obstruct the view. Amateur astronomers will have to get there on their own. But first they need to buy a ticket at the noosphere museum. For adults — 1,000 rubles, for children — 500.