The skies of Jordan and the Arab world witness the Perseid meteor shower.
Arab Weather - The skies over Jordan and across the Arab world will witness a unique astronomical phenomenon on the nights of August 12th and 13th, with approximately 100 meteors per hour visible as part of the Perseid meteor shower, one of the most intense and beautiful meteor showers of the year.
14-day weather in Amman, Jordan
How can you see the Perseids?
Jordanian astronomer Imad Mujahid, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the Arab Union for Space Sciences and Astronomy, stated that these meteors will be visible to the naked eye without the need for a telescope or other observation tools, and will appear in the sky like glittering fireworks.
He pointed out that the best places to observe this phenomenon are areas far from city lights, such as Wadi Rum in the south of the Kingdom, which is considered one of the most suitable locations to enjoy the meteor sightings, as they are most clearly visible and enchanting.
Mujahid added that some tourist destinations are planning to set up astronomical camps in Wadi Rum to observe the Perseid meteor shower, in addition to observing planets through telescopes, such as Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings, and the Milky Way.
He explained that the source of the Perseid meteor shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle, which passes close to the sun approximately every 130 years, leaving a river of dust in its wake. When Earth passes through this dust river on August 13 of each year, the meteor shower occurs.
How do meteors form?
Mujahid explained that meteors are created when small dust particles enter the atmosphere at tremendous speeds, reaching 70 kilometers per second. This friction generates intense heat, causing them to glow and appear as bright fireballs that last for a few moments and then disappear.
Meteors begin burning at an altitude of about 120 kilometers above the Earth's surface and turn to ash at an altitude of about 60 kilometers. Therefore, they rarely reach the Earth's surface, and when they do, they are only tiny particles that cannot be felt.
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