The Perseid meteor shower is expected to enjoy “astronomically very good conditions” this year. But smoke from wildfires, including the one raging in Jasper National Park in Alberta, threatens to reduce visibility of the astronomical event.
Since shooting stars are quite faint, the less full the Moon is, the better the chances of seeing them. This year, the Earth’s natural satellite will be in first quarter “during the most interesting period of the Perseids” – the night of August 11 to 12 – “which will be partially inconvenient, but not catastrophic,” explains Loïc Quesnel, coordinator of scientific leisure activities at the Montreal Planetarium.
If atmospheric conditions are perfect at that time, we could count 10 to 12 meteors visible per hour in the city, estimates Mr. Quesnel. And where light pollution is less significant, we are talking about 60 to 70 shooting stars per hour.
But forest fires could spoil the show, Mr. Quesnel fears. The smoke they emit is more detrimental to the visibility of the meteors than clouds, he explains, since it thinly covers the entire sky. Last year, forest fires had also hampered the observation of the Perseids in Quebec “quite significantly”, as did the light pollution caused by the full moon.
The fire in Jasper National Park in Alberta is still out of control. And even if it were brought under control soon, it could still hamper our shooting star viewing by mid-August, Quesnel said. “When you have fires close to us or even very large fires out west, like we have right now, it’s going to take a few days for that smoke to travel to us. It’s definitely going to affect us.”
Over the years, wildfires have become a factor that increasingly needs to be considered when observing the stars. “Now, most weather apps allow you to have filters that show rain, clouds, but also the smoke layer from wildfires. It’s something that you have to take into account when planning sky observations.”
A dark sky and a little patience
Even though, in the city, we will be far from seeing all the luminous streaks that will streak the sky during the Perseids, Mr. Quesnel still invites the public to look up. “We should see them more as an excuse to connect with the sky, to take the time to observe the sky – something we don’t do in general, and even less so in the city.”
The coordinator of scientific leisure activities at the Montreal Planetarium reminds us that it is not necessary to have a telescope to contemplate the Perseids: all that is needed is a dark place (or, at the very least, without direct light). Light pollution maps are also available on the Web to help the curious find the best places to observe the sky.
While the Perseids meteor shower is the one that attracts the most attention in Quebec, it is not the most spectacular of the year. It is rather the Geminids, which takes place in December and “which is much more important than the Perseids,” emphasizes Mr. Quesnel. “We talk about it less because going to observe the sky in the middle of December is just less satisfying. And then, statistically, the weather will be more unfavorable too, although the night is longer.”