A famous November 1998 photo by Stephen Shaver of the Perseid meteorshower seen over the Great Wall of China. AFP
By Terry Fredrickson
One of nature's most exciting annual shows is almost here, the Perseid meteor shower.
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Sky show coming next week: It's free!
Nasa graphic showing the Earth crossing the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet
You can be sure that some localastronomy enthusiasts are making plans to get away from the bright lights of Bangkok next week to enjoy one of nature's most exciting annualshows.
Each year from late July to August our Earth passes through debrisfrom cometSwift-Tuttle, causing a shower of meteors which burn brightly as they hit the atmosphere at 212,000 kilometres per hour before disintegrating
This year the meteorshower, called the Perseid meteorshower because it is best seen in the constellationPerseus, will peakfrom August 11th through the 13th.
Look toward the constellationfrom 10:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. After midnight is best with the show's climaxa bit before sunrise
You might even see a few fireballs tonight as the shower has already begun. Get away from the city lights and look about half way into the northeast sectionof the nighttime sky.
As for next week, let's hope the weather department has ordered clear night skies.
Vocabulary
annual: happening every year - ทุกๆปีด, ประจำปี
astronomy: the scientific study of the stars, planets, and other objects in the universe - ดาราศาสตร์
climax: the most exciting or important event or point in time - จุดสำคัญสูงสุดของเหตุการณ์
comet: a mass of ice and dust that moves around the sun and looks like a bright star with a tail - ดาวหาง
constellation: a group of stars that forms a shape in the sky and has a name - กลุ่มดาว
debris: broken pieces that are left when something large has been destroyed - เศษ ซากปรักหักพัง ซากสิ่งของที่ถูกทำลาย
disintegrating: breaking into small pieces - แตกละเอียด
enthusiast: a person who is very interested in something and spends a lot of time doing it - คนที่กระตือรือร้น
local: in this country (Thailand) -
meteor: a piece of rock from outer space that makes a bright line across the night sky as it burns up while falling through the earth's atmosphere - ดาวตก
nature: the physical world including all living things as well as the land and the seas - ธรรมชาติ
peak: to reach the highest amount or level, before becoming lower - ขึ้นจนถึงจุดสุดยอด
section: any of the parts into which something is divided - ส่วน
sunrise: the time of the morning when the sun is first seen - พระอาทิตย์ขึ้น
