Updated

Updated · WBUR News · Aug 12

Spain's Alcañiz Awaits Aug. 12 Total Eclipse as Perseid Peak Lights Northern Hemisphere

Updated

Updated · WBUR News · Aug 12

Spain's Alcañiz Awaits Aug. 12 Total Eclipse as Perseid Peak Lights Northern Hemisphere

Q: Could the sudden darkness of today's solar eclipse actually reveal Perseid meteors streaking across the daytime sky?

Yes—but only in a very limited, unlikely way. The eclipse’s brief darkness could reveal a Perseid only if it is an unusually bright fireball, and even then the odds during totality are low. Experts say the sky during a total solar eclipse is not truly night-dark. It is more like deep twilight, so ordinary Perseid meteors would usually be washed out. Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society told Space.com that a visible meteor during totality would likely have to be a fireball crossing the darkest part of the sky. NASA Meteoroid Environments Office head Bill Cooke similarly said only Perseid fireballs would likely be visible, and that most viewers should expect to see none. Timing also works against it. In Spain, where totality comes near sunset and lasts around 1 to 2 minutes, observers have only a tiny window. Perseids can reach high hourly rates at night, but bright fireballs are much rarer. Lunsford noted Perseids typically produce about one fireball every few hours, making a match with a two-minute eclipse possible but very lucky. So the eclipse can, in principle, expose a meteor in the daytime sky, especially near sunset in the path of totality. But viewers should treat that as a bonus, not the main event. The much better chance to see Perseids comes later Wednesday night into early Thursday, under dark, moonless skies, especially after midnight and before dawn.

1 articles · Updated · WBUR News · Aug 12

Alcañiz, Spain — in Wednesday’s path of totality — is the focal point of a WBUR Here & Now segment featuring Sky & Telescope senior editor Kelly Beatty on the Aug. 12 solar eclipse.
Beatty also says Wednesday night’s Perseid meteor shower should be viewable across almost the entire Northern Hemisphere, giving skywatchers a second major event the same day.
The broadcast ties the two celestial events together for Aug. 12, with eclipse viewing centered on northeastern Spain and meteor viewing extending far beyond the eclipse track.
Audio from the Here & Now interview is scheduled to be available after the Aug. 12 broadcast.

Sources

WBUR News9d ago

Kelly Beatty Discusses Solar Eclipse, Perseid Meteor Shower from Alcañiz, Spain

As totality plunges Spain into premature twilight tonight, are skywatchers truly prepared for the split-second dangers of returning sunlight?

Could the sudden darkness of today's solar eclipse actually reveal Perseid meteors streaking across the daytime sky?

With the sun just five degrees above the horizon today, could a sudden summer storm steal Europe's rarest sunset eclipse?

Sources

1 total

WBUR News9d ago

Kelly Beatty Discusses Solar Eclipse, Perseid Meteor Shower from Alcañiz, Spain

Spain's Alcañiz Awaits Aug. 12 Total Eclipse as Perseid Peak Lights Northern Hemisphere

Summary

Sources

Insights

Related Stories

Sources

Related Stories