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What
is a meteor shower? Meteors, or shooting stars as we sometimes call
them, are bits of debris from space that burn up in the Earth's
atmosphere creating a streak across the sky. Meteor showers are named
after the part of the sky they seem to be coming from. During the
Perseid meteor shower the meteors appear to be originating from the
constellation Perseus. The Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth
passes through the orbit of the Comet Swift-Tuttle.
If you're not too confident with your astronomy skills, or you would like to get kids interested in astronomy and star gazing there are many great resources and tools to do so. I have mentioned some of these in the past, but they are worth another nod. If you want to explore the night sky before heading outside you should check Stellarium, a free planetarium software program. You can also use a printable star wheel like this one to help orient yourself.
If
you'd like to go high tech another excellent tool for orienting
yourself to the night sky is Google's
Sky Map app. With the app you simply hold your phone or device up
toward the sky and it shows what you should be seeing in that
location. However, I'd urge you to turn off your gadgets once you
know what you're looking at and just enjoy!
If
you like astronomy topics you might want to read my other posts that
involve the sky and beyond by following this link.
If you're not too confident with your astronomy skills, or you would like to get kids interested in astronomy and star gazing there are many great resources and tools to do so. I have mentioned some of these in the past, but they are worth another nod. If you want to explore the night sky before heading outside you should check Stellarium, a free planetarium software program. You can also use a printable star wheel like this one to help orient yourself.
Three
of my favorite books for sharing the night sky with children and
learning more myself are Chet Raymo's 365 Starry Nights : An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year, H.A. Rey's The Stars and H.A. Rey's Find the Constellations.
If
you'd like to go high tech another excellent tool for orienting
yourself to the night sky is Google's
Sky Map app. With the app you simply hold your phone or device up
toward the sky and it shows what you should be seeing in that
location. However, I'd urge you to turn off your gadgets once you
know what you're looking at and just enjoy!
If
you like astronomy topics you might want to read my other posts that
involve the sky and beyond by following this link. Read more:
EarthSky: "Everything You Need to Know: Perseid Meteor Shower"
Resources:
Stellarium Planetarium Software (Free!)
Printable Star Wheel
Google Sky Map
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