In the coming days, numerous shooting stars can be observed again in the sky. The Perseids, who can be admired regularly in July and August, reach their maximum this year on the night of August 13 at shortly after 1 a.m. Due to the full moon on August 12, the meteors can only be seen very limited.
The Radiant – the apparent origin of the "shooting star rain" - lies with the Perseids in the constellation Perseus. Actually, however, the meteors come from a cloud of debris particles that are located along the orbit of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Every year at this time, the orbit of the Earth crosses that of the comet and collects the debris, which then becomes visible as shooting stars in the evening sky.
At the time of the maximum, the moon is in the Wassermann constellation, so that as a field of observation, one should switch to the noticeably lightened northern sky. At the beginning of the night, the radiant already reached a height of around 30 degrees above the horizon. The average maximum time this year is also with smaller deviations with a sun length of approximately 140 degrees. In optimal conditions, there were around 100 meteors per hour. Due to the moon's disturbance, however, the number of meteors to be observed is reduced.
At the same time as the Perseids, the meteor shower of the Kappa Cygnids is active. The maximum occurs on August 17, with the radiant at a sufficient height throughout the night. The rates are then around three meteors per hour. A pronounced maximum is not predicted for this year. An increased activity of this stream was recorded in 2007, 2014 and 2021.
Video data shows a clear maximum at the sun's length of 145 degrees, the maximum time mentioned above. In addition, an activity is clearly detectable in the period from 2 to 18 August. Due to the lower speed of the particles when entering the Earth's atmosphere, the shooting stars appear very slowly. But sometimes it also comes to brighter appearances. The location of the radiant at the end of the western swan wing can be easily memorized.
