An annual meteor shower is expected to light up the sky over the next few days as shooting stars streak overhead.
The happens each August. That鈥檚 when the Earth rotates through a cloud of debris left behind by the
鈥淲hen that happens we just plow into this stream of particles,鈥� astronomy expert Andrew Fazekas told 麻豆传媒 Channel Sunday. 鈥淢ost of them are about the size of a grain of sand, some of them are as big as a grapefruit or basketball.鈥�
When the particles hit Earth鈥檚 upper atmosphere, they burn up into what is commonly known as shooting stars.
If there are clear skies, stargazers will be able to spot upwards of 60 to 100 shooting stars per hour for the next two days, beginning Sunday night.
鈥淭hose numbers will go down if you鈥檙e stuck in the city,鈥� Fazekas said. 鈥淚n a backyard, you鈥檒l likely see 15 to 20 shooting stars in an hour, but that鈥檚 still a great show.鈥�
The meteor shower鈥檚 name is derived from the constellation Perseus, from where the shooting stars appear to radiate as they streak across the sky. The constellation is located in the northeastern part of the sky.
Gordon鈥檚 Park Eco Resort on Manitoulin Island is hosting a Perseid meteor shower party starting Monday. Participants will be able to observe the 鈥渘atural fireworks鈥� from the park鈥檚 dark sky preserve.
In addition, the park hosts public observing sessions.
Manager Paul Beduhn told CTVNews.ca the park sees a spike in visitors during events like meteor showers.
鈥淲e were pleasantly surprised with the public interest in the Perseid party because not a lot of people know about (the meteor shower event),鈥� he said.
The great thing about the dazzling light show is that it can be seen without a telescope.
鈥淎s far as I鈥檓 concerned, you get a nice cool drink, and you lie down on a picnic table looking up and you鈥檙e going to see the best show you can,鈥� Beduhn said.
