Perseids Meteor Shower in India; when and where to watch

The Perseid Meteor Shower is set to reach its peak in India on the nights of August 12 and August 13. The Perseids are perhaps the most popular meteor shower of the year; and in 2018, they will be the best shower of the year according to NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke. 

What is the Perseids Meteor Shower?

Comets, which are chunks of ice that contain rock and dust. But when comets come close to the heat of the Sun, their ice melts and the meteoroids is left behind in the orbit of the comet. This matter is what makes for meteor showers, as they burn up, due to friction, while entering the Earth’s atmosphere, making them look like shooting stars. 

Some of the bigger remains even make fireballs.

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The Perseids originate from the Perseus constellation. They are tiny space debris made from the comet Swift-Tuttle, which is the largest object known to make repeated passes near the earth. 

Additionally, the Perseids meteors are quite fast. They enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 60 km/second. 60 to 100 meteors are predictable to be visible every hour.

In India, the Perseids Meteor Shower will be the most visible on the nights of August 11-12 and August 12-13, and will be happening after midnight. However, out of the two nights, the showers would be brighter on August 12-13.

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In North India the place to watch would be: 

Dharamshala, Parvati Valley, Leh, Mount Abu.

For people in South India: 

Nandi Hills, Hampi, Turahalli Forest, Ramanagara.

East India: 

Gandikota, Darjeeling, Tawang, Diphu.

West India: 

Bhandardara, Kutch, Bikaner, Ranakpur.