The Perseids 2020 will be visible in the night sky for several weeks, but they will only reach their clearly visible maximum in August.
- From July 17 to August 24, 2020, the Perseids can be seen in the sky over Germany.
- The Perseids will reach their maximum in the night from Wednesday, August 12th to Thursday, August 13th, 2020 .
- The number of shooting stars continues to increase until this day.
- Up to 100 shooting stars per hour can be seen in the sky at a maximum.
Perseids 2020 - Shooting stars will peak on August 12th
The annual meteor shower of the Perseids brings us another impressive spectacle in the sky. It starts on July 17th, 2020. Then you can count on falling stars over Germany again. The climax is on August 12th . Anyone interested in the event should definitely look to the sky this Wednesday night.
The meteors that we can see as shooting stars in the sky have been appearing since July 17th. The maximum of the Perseids will finally be reached on August 12th. For experts it is quite predictable that dozens of falling stars will appear in the sky every hour. “The Perseids are relatively constant from year to year,” said astrophysicist Dominik Elsässer in previous years.
The first Perseid meteors appear at the end of July. From mid-August, the number of Perseids will also decrease significantly in 2020. The climax that fans of astronomical events want to see ultimately takes place in a single night. In contrast to other bodies that burn up in the atmosphere, these falling stars are predictable.
Shooting stars of the Perseids 2020 not under optimal conditions
In the night of August 12th to 13th, 2020, most of the meteors hit the earth and create a multitude of shooting stars. At the maximum, the shooting stars flare up more often than every minute. These also include very bright specimens, which are known as bolides or fireballs. This year, however, they reach their maximum between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time) and therefore mostly fall during the daytime hours. However, shooting stars will still be seen in the evening.
Getting up early was worth it. 😉First of all, have a coffee ... pic.twitter.com/pmlFnXJOC0
- DLR_next (@DLR_next) July 7, 2020Watching shooting stars: where and when can you see the Perseids?
The Perseids appear in the constellation Perseus, which is located in the sky in a northeastern direction at this time of year. This is where the apparent starting point of the Perseid meteors lies. Astronomers refer to such a starting point for meteor streams as radians. An ideal place for sighting the shooting stars offers a clear view and has as few light sources as possible in the area. The night sky is clearest outside of cities.
The best view of the Perseids is between two and four o'clock at night, when it is darkest. Those who cannot watch at night on August 12th also have a good chance of numerous shooting stars in the nights before and after.
Perseids in the video: This is what the shooting stars look like in August
What are Perseids? History of the shooting stars in August
The Perseids are a meteor shower that crosses the path of the earth in a fixed rhythm. The number of meteors that hit the atmosphere always reaches its maximum around August 12th of the year.
The meteors that cause the Perseids to shoot stars come from comet 109P / Swift-Tuttle, which takes around 133 years to orbit the sun. In doing so, he loses parts that form the meteor shower as dust particles. They are often not even the size of the head of a pin. The debris from 109P / Swift-Tuttle moves at 60 kilometers per second, making them one of the very fast meteors. At a height of 80 to one hundred kilometers, the small dust particles then create the light phenomena called shooting stars.
The Perseids aren't the only meteor shower the Earth encounters in the course of a year. However, it is the most productive stream. That is why August is also known as the “shooting star month”.
How can you photograph the shooting stars?
If you want to photograph the meteor shower at the Perseids maximum, you should mount a camera with a wide-angle lens on a tripod and choose a long exposure. A lens with a short focal length ensures that you can photograph a large section of the sky. This is important because you never know where exactly the next falling star will glow.
Without experience with high quality camera equipment, it is generally difficult to take good pictures of the shooting stars. With a smartphone or tablet you hardly have a chance to get decent photos.
Shooting stars in August 2020 are not only called "Perseids"
As mentioned before, to a viewer it looks like the shooting stars come from the constellation Perseus. The name Perseids is derived from this apparent origin.
When the Perseids sweep across the sky in 2020, the name “Tears of Laurentius” will come up again. This is how the shooting stars in August are popularly known. The reason has nothing to do with astronomy, but with a historical reason. The annual event in the sky culminates shortly after the death of the martyr Laurentius. It is said that he was executed on August 10, 258.
Other events in the sky: shooting stars and darkness
When the Perseids are over, it will take a little longer until the next meteor showers. Not until October do we see falling stars in the sky again. At the beginning of October, the Draconids arrive first and two weeks later the Orionids. (rm)
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday (July 28th to 29th, 2020) you can watch fireworks in the night sky. If the clouds play along, you can marvel at aquarium meteors.