Aug 11, 2009 10:16 am US/Central
Clear Skies Expected For Perseid Meteor Shower
Meteors To Fly Through The Sky Tuesday And Wednesday Night
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky early August 12, 2008 near Rogers Spring in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The Chicago area will have clear skies Tuesday and Wednesday night for viewing of the shooting stars in the Perseid meteor shower.
The meteor shower will be visible on Tuesday night and Wednesday night, when it peaks. It occurs every August, when the earth passes through a mass of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle, according to the Adler Planetarium.
The "shooting stars" that are visible in the sky are a result of debris from the comet entering the earths' atmosphere and burning up. To a viewer on the ground, the meteors look like they are coming from a point known as a radiant in the constellation Perseus, thus the name "Perseid,"
according to a report by the BBC.
CBS 2'S Ed Curran says the conditions will be just right for viewing the meteor shower, with few clouds in the sky and low temperatures in the 60s. The meteor shower can be seen without a telescope.
Here is some detailed information about what to look for in the sky.
The Adler Planetarium is holding a Meteor Shower Star Party on Wednesday between 7:30 and 11 p.m., not at the planetarium, but at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. The event is sold out, but those who have tickets already will watch excerpts from "One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure," in a portable dome, view the meteor shower through a telescope, and see a a science presentation on the Hubble Telescope.
Meteorites aren't just pretty flashes in the sky. They're especially useful to scientists, who use them to learn about the earth and solar system. Other than the samples brought back from the moon on the Apollo and Luna missions, meteorites are the only off-earth that scientists study directly, according to the Adler.
CBS 2's Ed Curran contributed to this report.
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