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to 12 ) , light earth sky each summer as the Earth passes through the trail left
by Comet Swift - Tuttle , giant mile - wide swing by Earth every 133 years
Swift - Tuttle , whose core is 16 miles ( 26 kilometers ) wide , is the largest
solar system objects to pass close to Earth repeatedly , NASA said , and
researchers once thought it might hit Earth in 2126 - but the last time passed
Earth , on in 1992 , astronomers take more precise measurements and
calculate that the next pass would not be so dangerous after all .
" Its orbit is passing very close to Earth's orbit , so it has been seen as a dangerous object for
many years , " Paul Chodas , manager of NASA 's near-Earth object research center , told
Space.com . " Now , we know the orbit is very good, good enough to say that we are safe from the
impact for thousands of years . "
Astronomer Jim Scotti of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory remember to
observe the comet Swift - Tuttle in 1992 ( between late November and early December ) through
36 - inch telescope on Kitt Peak Spacewatch lab .
" It was fun to observe a comet , " said Scotti Space.com . " Hard to believe it was that long now .
And the dust and debris, which create the Perseid meteor shower because they burn in the Earth's
atmosphere, traveling quickly, too - about 37 miles (59 km) per second. And although only a
comet passing the Earth every 133 years, the meteor shower occurs every year when the Earth
moves through its orbit trail.
"The debris came more quickly than many other comets because it is a very elongated orbit ... so
as to make the show a little more spectacular because of the speed," said Chodas.
For viewers in the northern hemisphere, the Perseids meteor shower is one of the best this year -
and NASA have called it a "champion fireball" of the annual meteor showers for a record-breaking
number of extra-bright meteor, called a fireball. They fireball visible even in light polluted areas
such as city (still, there are many more faint meteors that can only be seen if you go to a dark
area).
This year, the summit will be more spectacular than usual, reaching 200 meteors per hour, due to
the effect of Jupiter gravityon debris trail. That increased meteor, called blasts, irregular -
researchers are only able to predict their time since the late 1990s, NASA meteor expert
Spektakuler hujan meteor Perseid , memuncak Kamis malam ( 11-12 Agustus ) ,
lampu langit bumi setiap musim panas sebagai Bumi melewati jejak yang
ditinggalkan oleh Komet Swift - Tuttle , raksasa mil - lebar yang ayunan oleh Bumi
setiap 133 tahun
Swift - Tuttle , yang inti adalah 16 mil ( 26 kilometer ) lebar , adalah yang terbesar
objek tata surya untuk lulus dekat dengan Bumi berulang kali , NASA mengatakan ,
dan peneliti pernah berpikir itu mungkin menghantam Bumi pada 2126 - tapi
terakhir kali berlalu Earth , pada tahun 1992 , para astronom mengambil
pengukuran yang lebih tepat dan menghitung bahwa lulus berikutnya tidak akan
begitu berbahaya setelah semua .
" Orbitnya lewat sangat dekat dengan orbit Bumi , sehingga telah dilihat
sebagai objek yang berbahaya selama bertahun-tahun , " Paul Chodas ,
manajer NASA untuk pusat studi dekat Bumi objek , mengatakan Space.com .
" Sekarang , kita tahu orbitnya sangat baik , cukup baik untuk mengatakan
bahwa kita aman dari dampak selama ribuan tahun . "
Astronom Jim Scotti dari Universitas Arizona Lunar dan Planetary Laboratory
ingat mengamati komet Swift-Tuttle pada tahun 1992 (antara akhir November
dan awal Desember) melalui 36-inch teleskop Spacewatch lab atas Kitt Peak.