August 08, 2023, 11:58 AM
To those of you who have not gotten enough of celestial events in the past month, good news.
The Perseids meteor shower will be visible this year on Aug. 9, just in time for national day festivities.
When and where to view
According to an update by Stargazing Singapore, the best observing time is from 4am to 6am.
Although visible on the morning of Aug. 9, the meteor shower will peak and appear brightest on Aug. 12 and 13.
It will be visible in the direction of the northeastern sky.
Despite a bright waning supermoon in the east, the meteor shower will still be visible.To view the celestial show, no special equipment is needed.
You just have to have an unobstructed view, and look up at the night sky.
Open fields at parks such as Bishan Park, West Coast Park and Changi Beach are good locations for observation.
Open-air multi-storey car parks or sky gardens with unblocked surroundings are also good observation spots.
Patience and a little bit of luck needed
What you might need, however, is lots of patience and a little bit of luck.
Despite its name, Perseids do not appear as a meteor shower in Singapore.
Instead, you will more likely observe the meteors one by one in the night sky.
You might catch a fireball if you are lucky, but there is also a chance you might only see one meteor or none at all in a night.
The meteors might also be out of sight if the skies are cloudy, which according Stargazing Singapore, tends to be the case during Perseids season in Singapore.
What is the Perseids meteor shower?
The Perseids meteor shower occurs annually from Jul. 17 to Aug. 24.
It is the result of Earth passing through the debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet, which was discovered in 1862.
The celestial event is considered one of the best meteor showers of the year, with around 50 to 100 meteors seen per hour.
Meteors during the event are known for their bright and colourful tails of light, as well as fireballs.
Supermoon on Aug. 31
Won't be able to get out of bed at 4am to watch the meteor shower, but want to get in on astronomical events? Fret not.
According to the Science Centre Observatory (SCO), the Geminids meteor shower may be visible in Singapore in December.
The Geminids is the biggest and most spectacular meteor shower, SCO wrote in an FAQ.
You can also catch the next supermoon event on Aug. 31.
Or, treat yourself to these pictures of the supermoons from this year.
Top image via Stargazing Singapore/Facebook
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