The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand is inviting Thai people to watch the Perseid meteor shower during the night of Mother’s Day (August 12th).
Mr. Suparuek Karuhanont, chief of the astronomical service of the institute, said that Perseid meteors can be seen anywhere in the world from July 17th until August 24th of every year, but the shower will be at its peak on August 12th and 13th, hence it has been given the name “Mother’s Day Meteor Shower” in Thailand.
This year, the shower will produce about 100 meteors an hour throughout the night of August 12th, but this is calculated assuming a perfectly dark sky and that the radiant of the shower is directly overhead.
Mr. Suparuek, however, said that visibility will be hampered by the bright moon until after 4am on August 13th, when the moon is due to set.
Seen from Bangkok, the shower will not be visible before around 22.28 each night, when its radiant point rises above the eastern horizon. It will then remain active until dawn breaks.
The brightness of the Perseid meteors is second only to the Leonid shower.
