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<H1>Perseid Meteor Outburst</H1><FONT face=Verdana>
<P><STRONG><FONT size=3><FONT color=#ff0000>POSSIBLE PERSEID OUTBURST:
</FONT></FONT>This year's Perseid meteor shower could be even better than
usual</STRONG>. "A filament of comet dust has drifted across Earth's path and
when Earth passes through it, <STRONG>sometime between 0800 and 0900 UTC (1 - 2
am PDT) on August 12th</STRONG>, the Perseid meteor rate could surge to twice
its normal value," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. The
following profile is based on the debris stream models of veteran forecasters
Jeremie Vaubaillon and Mikhail Maslov:</P>
<P align=center><A
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height=340 src="http://spaceweather.com/swpod2009/04aug09/Per009_zhr_strip.jpg"
width=360 border=0></A></P>
<P align=left>The filament was shed by Perseid parent comet Swift-Tuttle in the
year 1610, and this is one of Earth's first encounters with it. "In addition,"
notes Cooke, "the main Perseid debris stream, which we run into every year, may
be denser than normal due to a gravitational enhancement by Saturn. <STRONG>The
total combination of these effects could result in as many as 200 meteors per
hour (ZHR)</STRONG>."</P>
<P align=left>Bright moonlight will overwhelm the outburst's fainter Perseids,
but even a fraction of 200 is a good show. Science@NASA's "<A
href="http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/31jul_perseids2009.htm">The
Perseids are Coming</A>" offers observing tips and sky maps.</P></FONT>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Perseids on your iPhone:<BR>Spaceweather.com is pleased to
announce a new iPhone/iPod application dedicated to the upcoming Perseid meteor
shower. It features a Perseid countdown clock, news alerts, an easy-to-use sky
map, and a live gallery of photos from around the world. Sky watchers of all
types will find it a valuable companion when the shower peaks later this
month.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Learn more: </FONT><A
href="http://spaceweather.com/perseids" target=_blank><FONT
face=Verdana>http://spaceweather.com/perseids</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Download the app: </FONT><A
href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=325305245&mt=8"
target=_blank><FONT
face=Verdana>http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/<BR>viewSoftware?id=325305245&mt=8</FONT></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana>Fonte: Science@NASA's </FONT></P></BODY></HTML>