Look out for the meteor shower

FROM TONIGHT and for the next few days, the sky turns into a firework display of shooting stars, as the Earth enters an area of space debris, most of it formed from remains of the Tuttle comet.

This phenomenon occurs every August as a result of the Earth moving in a track of the sun and the meteors moving in another track. Eventually, the two tracks meet at a crossroads, causing the earth to attract parts of the debris so that these create the phenomenon of the shooting stars.

This phenomenon is called Perseides, since its focus is always on the constellation of Perseos. It is expected to last four or five days with the density of shooting stars reaching up to 40 per hour.

According to astronomer Ioannis Fakkas, the Perseids are expected to “reach their maximum on August 11 and 12.” The constellation of Perseos during these days will be traced in a northeastern direction on the night-sky, most clearly visible after 11pm.

To mark the occasion, the Cyprus Astronomy Association is preparing an evening of star-gazing via space telescope on the premises of the Kyperounta Sanatorium. This will take place on August 12 from 9pm to 11.30pm. Viewers will have the opportunity to observe the planet Jupiter and its satellites as well as the moon’s satellites, besides watching the shooting stars. Entrance is free to the public.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.