One of those amazing light shows in history is about to take place over the continent of North America. Forecasts are predicting that between 200 to 1,000 meteors per hour between 2 and 4 a.m. Eastern Time will rain over the North American continent on Saturday.
The exquisite shower of stars has been named ‘The May Camelopardalid’. NASA says that the peak of the shower will appear during our nighttime, and the debris will “radiate” from a position favorable for viewing.
Scientists say that Earth is expected to come into contact with multiple streams of debris ejected from the faint comet 209P/LINEAR, which crosses into Earth’s orbit around the sun approximately once every five years.
The streams of dust that could splash across the sky date back as far as the 18th century, according to a guide from NASA.
If for some reason you can’t make it outside, or if your area is having bad weather, you can check out NASA’s chat and live stream here.
Why Is It Called ‘The May Camelopardalid’?
[sociallocker]
The reason that this shower is named The May Camelopardalids, comes from the name of the constellation and the angle in our sky from where the meteors will appear.
The shower is made up of debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR, according to NASA. It crosses the Earth’s orbit once every five years as it circles the sun.
In 2012, NASA announced that Earth would encounter debris from this comet crossing our orbit this weekend.
[/sociallocker]
