It was Giovanni Schiaparelli who realized in 1865 that this comet was the source of the Perseids. Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the Sun once. The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Perseids originate from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky. When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, though at times it is possible to view meteors from this shower as early as 10 p.m. Fireballs are also brighter, with apparent magnitudes greater than -3. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. Perseids are also known for their fireballs. They occur with warm summer nighttime weather allowing sky watchers to comfortably view them. The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers with about 50 to 100 meteors seen per hour. With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long "wakes" of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's atmosphere. The Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, is considered the best meteor shower of the year. The Perseid meteor shower peaks in mid-August, and is considered the best meteor shower of the year.
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