UMass Lowell Astronomer Available for Interviews on Phenomenon
08/10/2020
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Stargazers will be treated to a celestial light show this week when the Perseid meteor showers streak across the sky.
The best time to see the meteors will be Monday through Thursday night. The Perseid showers – named for the constellation Perseus, from which they appear to derive – will be created as the Earth passes through a trail of space dust left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet, according to Silas Laycock, a UMass Lowell astronomer and expert in space phenomena such as black holes, neutron stars and pulsars, who is available for interviews.
“The comet’s dust stream is quite wide so it takes a few days for us to pass through it, even though our planet is moving at a speed of 66,000 mph in its orbit,” Laycock said, noting that you don’t have to be an astronomer to enjoy the meteor shower. “Go outside at night and you may be lucky enough to see Perseid meteors streaking across the sky. You can start looking as soon as it gets fully dark. Try propping a camera on a solid surface pointing at the sky and take some long exposures – 10 seconds to minute – and you will be amazed how many more meteors you catch.”
He is also available to discuss:
- Why meteors glow;
- What else stargazers will be able to see in the skies this week;
- The Swift-Tuttle comet, first recorded by Chinese astronomers in 69 BC.
Laycock is an associate professor of physics who conducts research in the university’s Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology. He also leads UMass Lowell’s Astronomy Roadshow program, which visits K-12 schools to educate children about the subject.
To arrange an interview via phone, email or Zoom (or another platform), contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, 978-934-4944 or Christine Gillette at Christine_Gillette@uml.edu, 978-758-4664.