Figure 1. The "Subaru-Asahi Star Camera," jointly operated by Subaru Telescope and The Asahi Shimbun Company, broadcasts the beauty of the night sky over Maunakea as well as its daytime view everyday via YouTube. Maunakea is one of the world’s best astronomical observation sites. This image is a scene from the Perseid meteor shower in 2021 captured by the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera. (Credit: NAOJ & Asahi Shimbun)
The Perseid meteor shower, which reaches its maximum around August 13, is probably the biggest astronomical event during the summer vacation season in Japan. Every year, this meteor shower is marked by a large number of meteors from midnight to dawn, when the constellation Perseus rises high in the sky. This year, the Moon will have waned significantly by the time of the maximum, so we will be able to observe the meteors under good conditions.
This summer, Subaru Telescope and The Asahi Shimbun Company will launch a special event "Maunakea Summer Special 2023: Perseid Meteor Shower!" Asahi Shimbun will visit Hawai`i to research a story, and during their stay, they will visit the summit facility, temporally installing a few additional sky cameras for the event in addition to our currently running Subaru-Asahi Star Camera. The additional views will help capture the Perseid meteor shower from various angles for three days (August 11~13 in Hawai`i, or 12~14 in Japan), including the day of the maximum activity of the shower. We also plan to do a livestream not only from the Subaru Summit Facility but also from the Hālepohaku mid-level facility which is near the Onizuka Visitor Center, where many visitors will be enjoying the starry sky. The livestream from Hālepohaku will be on the night of August 12 in Hawai`i.
Due to the time difference, it is still daytime in Japan when the Sun sets in Hawai`i. In Japan, the Perseid meteor shower is most visible from midnight to dawn, making it difficult for young kids to stay up to observe it. But with our livestreaming views of Hawai`i’s sky, they can enjoy the Perseid meteor shower in real time starting from the evening in Japan.
In 2021, a Japanese intermediate school student who was observing the Perseid meteor shower with the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera as a research project during the summer break independently discovered an unexpected outburst of activity 1.5 days after the peak activity. This discovery made headlines (Note 2). Such unexpected discoveries may be made by continuously watching the live view.
The details of the special event will be announced in early August on the related websites and SNS accounts of Asahi Shimbun, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and Subaru Telescope. We hope you will enjoy the summer celestial show in the world's best starry sky through your computer, and also take this opportunity to step outside and watch for meteors in the night sky above your head.
（Note 1） NAOJ Enters into Agreement on Installation and Operation of Subaru-Asahi Star Camera with The Asahi Shimbun Company (Subaru Telescope September 12, 2022 Topics)
（Note 2）The Meteor Outburst Spotted by an Intermediate Student（Asahi Shimbun October 4,
2021, Japanese only）
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