Qatar stargazers in for a treat this week with Perseid meteor shower

An annual summer spectacle of shooting stars is expected to reach its peak this Wednesday or Thursday, under what astronomers are calling the most ideal sky-gazing conditions in five years.

Every August, the Earth passes through a cloud of debris – a mixture of ice and dust – from the comet Swift-Tuttle. These then burn up in the atmosphere, resulting in a beautiful meteor shower called the Perseids.

Unlike last year, when a super-moon lit up the sky and made watching the shower difficult, the Perseids will peak a day before the new moon this week, meaning there will be no light to obscure the show.

That means those of us in Qatar could see up to 60 meteors per hour, Jassim Lari, co-founder of the Qatar Astronomy, told Doha News.

Though there’s no moonlight to contend with, residents may find the high heat and humidity a bit of a challenge, he said.

Original article by Shabina S. Khatri

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Qatar stargazers in for a treat this week with Perseid meteor shower