🚀 go-pugleaf

The comet that spawned the Perseid meteor shower is now late for its
own return near the sun.  More on Comet Swift-Tuttle -- in just a
minute.

July 28  Comet Swift-Tuttle

This year the moon will be waxing to full just as the famous Perseid
meteor shower reaches its peak on the mornings of August 11 and 12.
That's too bad -- since the Perseids are generally one of the finest
meteor showers of the year.

But Perseid fans this year have something else to think about.  Meteors
that come in annual showers are actually debris from the bodies of
comets -- and the comet that spawned the Perseid shower has been
expected to return for several years now.

This comet's name is Swift-Tuttle, whose first and only known return
near the sun was in 1862.  Swift-Tuttle is thought to have about a
120-year orbital period.  That's not unusual for a comet -- in fact,
it's similar to Comet Halley, which completes a single orbit once every
76 years.

But Comet Halley has been seen at many returns during the past thousand
years or so.  Swift-Tuttle has been seen only once, in 1862.
Swift-Tuttle was expected to return to our region of the solar system
sometime between 1982 and this year -- but there's been no sign of it
yet.  That's important to meteor-watchers because when a parent comet
returns, the offspring meteor shower can become incredibly
spectacular.

The 1980 Perseid shower was very rich -- 1981 wasn't as good -- and
last year was downright disappointing to some long-time observers of
the Perseids.  Again, there will be a bright moon during the peak of
the meteor shower this year -- and meanwhile those who expect the
return of Comet Swift-Tuttle -- the comet that spawned the Perseid
meteors -- are still waiting.


Script by Deborah Byrd.

(c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin