Astronomers from the Stefanik Observatory in Prague have announced that the summer "shooting star" season has begun. Although the peak of the annual meteor shower happens around the middle of August, the first shooting stars have already started appearing.
Between the 11th and 15th of August our planet will pass through a stream of debris from periodic Comet Swift-Tuttle, sparking a flurry of shooting stars. They are called Perseids because they appear to flow from the constellation of Perseus. If the sky is clear on those nights, northern sky watchers should be able to see one shooting star every minute because this year observation will not be disturbed by moonlight.
