The June Boötid meteor shower will peak in the Pittsburgh area tonight

The annual Boötid meteor shower for June will continue until July 2, but its peak — and best chance for a glimpse — will be tonight. In the Pittsburgh area, the shower will be visible from dusk into the night.

But what is it, and why is Pittsburgh so well placed to see it?

“Bootid”?

The meteor shower is named after the constellation from which it appears to emanate, Boötes. But its actual origin is a trail of debris left behind by comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, according to astronomy website In the Sky. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through one of these debris trails. Shooting stars can be seen when a piece of debris hits Earth’s atmosphere, burning up between 43 and 62 miles above Earth’s surface.

“This is one of dozens of meteor showers throughout the year,” said Dan Vanden Burke, associate professor of physics at Saint Vincent’s College in Unity. “It peaks on June 27, but it’s not usually particularly exciting.”

On a few occasions, including 1998, 1927, 1921, and 1916, observers saw as many as 100 meteors per hour.

Good location in Pittsburgh

The Earth’s rotation turns Pittsburgh to face the direction of the incoming meteorites, causing an increase in the number to produce short trails as they burn.

Sky officials said some will also enter the atmosphere at a more oblique angle, resulting in long-lived meteors. Peak activity is expected around 7 pm today. Meteors are best seen when their radiating point is above the horizon. In Pittsburgh, that will be the case all night.

In the night sky, observers can see Boötes by looking to the east. The constellation will be located west of the Moon’s position.

If sitting outside doesn’t appeal to you, the pigeons can be watched live online, courtesy of the “Secrets of Space” YouTube channel.

burn

June’s Boötid meteroids hit Earth’s atmosphere at an average speed of 18 kilometers per second, or roughly 40,000 miles per hour. According to SpaceWeather.com, meteors are considered slow-moving.

When they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, Vanden Berk said, they immediately begin to heat up and collapse.

“They move very quickly and burn quickly,” he said. “Where in the atmosphere this happens depends on exactly how fast they’re moving, their direction, and how big they are. On very rare occasions, they’re big enough that a small piece hits the ground.”

More meteors

Tribune-Review file

A meteor pierces the faint band of the Milky Way over the countryside north of Cheyenne, Wu, during the Perseid meteor shower in 2013.

If the June Boötids don’t put on a show, Vanden Berk said astronomy enthusiasts just need to wait a few months, when the annual shower of Perseid meteors takes place.

“It usually peaks around August 12th or 13th,” he said. “On a nice, clear, dark night, you can see about 100 meteors an hour. You also want the moon to be dark, and it will be a thin crescent, close to a new moon, so there is a good chance you will see a lot of meteors.”