Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle first sighted the "Swift-Tuttle" comet during the American Civil War in 1862. The "Halley's" comet was sighted 180 years earlier by Edmund Halley in the year 1682.
The comet traveled around the sun going past earth before turning back into space. The Swift-Tuttle comet was expected to turn up - reportedly - every 130 years. It was last sighted using telescope in 1992. The Halley's comet was last sighted in 1910.
As the comet went past earth, it left a stream of meteors between Mars and Jupiter.
The meteor known as the Perseid meteor after the son of Zeus usually climax around August 10 of each year.
In 1866 Giovanni Schiaparelli concluded it was the Swift-Tuttle comet which had set off the Perseid meteor "shower", also known as Saint Laurence’s "tears". Saint Laurence died on August 10, 258 A.D.
"For this weekend," one meteor enthusiast expressed in 1980, "we can expect a fairly spectacular shower as there will be no moonlight. It will peak Monday night but Sunday and Tuesday will be pretty big nights, too."
The best time to watch the sky was said between 2:00a.m. and 5:00a.m. Although one astronomer confessed, "I have conflicting information. Some say Monday will be the best night and some say Tuesday. But both should be good since it’s a several day event."
"If you’re a casual observer," another enthusiast suggested, "I would just be down and look up. And I’d put a blanket down or you’re going to get cold."
"The meteors will be visible almost anywhere in the sky, beginning about 10:00p.m," one astronomer added, "The thing to do is to lie on your back and look above you. Be alert."
Another astronomer revealed, "As long as the public goes out looking for a grey cottonball in the sky – a dark, transparent sky area – they should have no real trouble seeing it."
The comet traveled around the sun going past earth before turning back into space. The Swift-Tuttle comet was expected to turn up - reportedly - every 130 years. It was last sighted using telescope in 1992. The Halley's comet was last sighted in 1910.
As the comet went past earth, it left a stream of meteors between Mars and Jupiter.
The meteor known as the Perseid meteor after the son of Zeus usually climax around August 10 of each year.
In 1866 Giovanni Schiaparelli concluded it was the Swift-Tuttle comet which had set off the Perseid meteor "shower", also known as Saint Laurence’s "tears". Saint Laurence died on August 10, 258 A.D.
"For this weekend," one meteor enthusiast expressed in 1980, "we can expect a fairly spectacular shower as there will be no moonlight. It will peak Monday night but Sunday and Tuesday will be pretty big nights, too."
The best time to watch the sky was said between 2:00a.m. and 5:00a.m. Although one astronomer confessed, "I have conflicting information. Some say Monday will be the best night and some say Tuesday. But both should be good since it’s a several day event."
"If you’re a casual observer," another enthusiast suggested, "I would just be down and look up. And I’d put a blanket down or you’re going to get cold."
"The meteors will be visible almost anywhere in the sky, beginning about 10:00p.m," one astronomer added, "The thing to do is to lie on your back and look above you. Be alert."
Another astronomer revealed, "As long as the public goes out looking for a grey cottonball in the sky – a dark, transparent sky area – they should have no real trouble seeing it."
