A big meteor “storm” is coming: will it be visible from Portugal?
A meteor shower or “shooting stars” is a very common event in the night sky.. Every year there are about a dozen that show plenty of activity, from the Geminids in December to the famous Perseids in August. During peak activity, there may be up to 100 meteors per hour.
There are also other rains that have an activity that can be defined as it’s not very significant. Next Tuesday, May 31For example, the peak of Tau Herculides, a meteor shower that is usually not very intense, and that displays, at most, about 50 shooting stars per hour. But in this year 2022, the extraordinary activity. Furthermore, it is necessary to want the its intensity remain quite imprecise.
The name of this rain of stars derives from the fact that the area of the sky from which it appears to emerge lies in the constellation of Hercules. As far as is known, as Tau Herculides are the product of the debris cloud of a fragmentation of the comet 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3 (SW3), and were discoveries in 1930as own comet that originated themper Arnold Schwassmann and by Arturo Arno Wachmann.
The comet was inactive until, as long as passed close to the Sun in 1995made astronomers realize that one had fragmented into several piecesfilling the orbital wake of the Solar system (where it has been since), with debris. Thus, it is possible that in night of May 30-31 circle around the Earth’s orbit, creating a meteor storm.
The uncertainty regarding the observation show that could be one of the biggest astronomical
As already mentioned, at this time, the possibility of observing one of the greatest astronomical spectacles that can be considered. Second provide Jérémie Vaubaillonastronomer of Paris Observatoryyour mathematical model indicates that this event is likely to happen, although not 100% guaranteed. To find out, we’ll have to go out on the street that night and the sky. The most optimistic estimates indicate the possibility of observing between 140 and 140 meteors per hour.
According to Borja Tosarfreelance astrophysicist, “A meteor storm is a much more active phenomenon than the typical showers of shooting stars we see every year.” The last time this happened was with the Draconids in 1933., when 1,000 shooting stars fell per hour. It is a very rare show and that may occur, 89 years later, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Will it be visible from Portugal?
As for the area of visibility, a large part of the United States, south-central and eastern Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and a small part of West Africa will be the regions of the world best positioned to attend this event. destination, for the far west and North America, as well as north for the rest of the globe, including our country, the sky could be much, by sunlight or bright enough, the sight of any foresight of any possible sight.
Despite that, from mainland Portugal, there is still a small chance of being able to take advantage of the potential rare phenomenon. According to expertsthe best time for observation will be from 4:00 am to dawn, looking west towards the constellation of Hercules. To this end, it is recommended to comply with urban areas and with cheerful information. Already from the Azores and Madeira, the probability of observation will be greater. Even if the event doesn’t happen, it’s still worth getting up just to delight in it. the envoy of Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.