If a picture is worth a thousand words, this composite of the Perseids Meteor Shower truly illustrates how fast Earth is moving and how much it encounters.
As our friends over at It’s Okay To Be Smart explain, “this long exposure shot by David Kingham as a friendly reminder that we are orbiting the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour, rocketing around the center of the Milky Way at 490,000 miles per hour, and traveling towards the constellation Leo at a blistering 390 kilometers per second.
That means that we happen to pass through the thin, dusty tails of comets long passed, like Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids’ source, we shouldn’t be surprised to see a few fireworks.”
For any who missed its debut last weekend, you’re in luck! These showers stick around for an estimated three weeks as a kick off to ‘Meteor Season’ which lasts through December.
Happy stargazing.
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