By Annette Chrysostomou
The Kition planetarium and observatory is inviting the public to its event “Meteor shower Perseids 2015” on Wednesday night at the Softates beach in Larnaca.
“The event is in its 7th year and is a mixture of science and fun which attracts more than 200 people every year.” The director of the planetarium, George Troullias, told the Cyprus Mail.
Organised in the framework of “International year of light and light-based technologies 2015” by UNESCO, the planetarium is the national representative in Cyprus. The event begins at 8pm and ends at dawn on Thursday. The exact location is the KiteMed Kitesurfing school at the Softades beach in the Larnaca area. It has been selected as it is one of the darkest areas on the island. No special equipment is needed to watch the show.
There will be a beach bar where people can buy drinks and food. People can also bring their own equipment for searching the skies. Until 11pm a telescope will be available. After that all lights will be switched off to better view the shower.
“The Meteor shower “Perseids” is the most impressive of the year and the most well known to the public,” Troullias said. It originates in dust which was left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which needs about 130 years to orbit the sun.
The pieces from the comet slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 210,000 km (130,000 miles) per hour, lighting up the night time with fast-moving Perseid meteors. The meteors, which have the size equal to a grain of rice and weigh less than one gram, enter the earth’s atmosphere and burn up in the height of 50-80 km. As they approach the ground with great speed, they dissolve due to the friction and overheating.
It is expected that 100 meteors per hour will be observed on Wednesday night.
The phenomenon is expected to begin at 9.36pm to peak at 4.30am.
For more information: Kition Planetarium at 99991111.
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