A sparkling set of shooting stars will decorate Israel’s skies during the late
night hours between Sunday and Monday.
The Perseids meteor shower, which
has occurred every summer for two millennia, began on approximately July 17 and
will end August 24 this year. It will peak for Israel at approximately 3 a.m. on
Monday, according to the Tel Aviv University Astronomy Club.
The Zenithal
Hourly Rate – the number of meteors an observer can see per hour during a dark,
clear night – is expected to be 100 meteors per hour, with a velocity of 59
km. per second, the Astronomy Club data said.
A number of events
will be held to mark the shower, including an exploratory evening with the
Bareket Observatory star observation team at Carmi Har-Hanegev Farm, on the edge
of the Ramon Crater. While membership in the star club is free, the event will
cost NIS 60 per participant, and will begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday and last through
Monday’s sunrise.
Activities at the Bareket event will include a
combination lecture and film presentation, training on star observation maps,
observation through a sophisticated telescope and explanations about
constellations with a special laser-guided celestial tour.
Meanwhile, the
Society for the Protection of Nature will present an “Evening of Shooting
Stars,” a celebratory night in honor of astronomy. The event will begin at 7
p.m. at the Mitzpe Ramon soccer stadium, and lights in the region will be shut
off accordingly.
Yet another event, called Stardust, will occur at the
Negev Desert Ashram, built on the ruins of what used to be the Shittim Nahal
army outpost in the Arava. For NIS 170, guests will be encouraged to connect
with nature and view the meteor shower, as well as participate in meditation,
movies and lectures on astronomy.
Nir Lahav, a physics doctoral student
at Bar-Ilan University, and Yoav Landsman, an aerospace engineer at Israel
Aerospace Industries, will lead discussions.
The evening, as the Ashram
describes it, is slated to be a “breathtaking” one, in which shooting stars
“illuminate and awaken the magical desert.”