One of the world’s most beautiful meteor showers is expected to reach its peak tonight, coinciding with the solar eclipse – but will you be able to see it?
The Perseid (Per-see-id) meteor shower is one of the strongest each year, with dozens of colourful shooting stars whizzing past every hour.
The shower returned to UK skies last month, and it’s expected to be at its most dazzling tonight.
But with the solar eclipse also taking place today, you may be wondering whether you’ll actually be able to see it.
Short answer: you can. Here’s how and when.
When does the Perseid shower peak?
The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, between August 12 and 13. According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the best time to watch the shower will be between midnight and 5am tomorrow, hours after stargazers get to witness the partial solar eclipse.
The meteor shower will continue after its peak tonight, through to August 24. However, between now and then, the number of meteors will decrease each night until it ends, making it harder to see.
Thankfully, should you miss the meteor shower, the stunning event will return next year around the same time.
How to watch the Perseid meteor shower tonight
Unlike many other meteor showers, you don’t actually need a telescope or binoculars to view the Perseids – although they can help, depending on your location.
The shower will be visible everywhere in the UK, but if you want to see it, you’ll need to find a dark location with little light pollution and a clear view of the horizon.
You’ll also need to give your eyes around 15 minutes to adjust to the dark before you can see the meteors.
Where can I see the solar eclipse in the UK today?
The UK won’t see a total solar eclipse, unlike northern Spain or Greenland, because it’s narrowly out of the path of totality.
By path of totality, we mean where the moon will completely blot out the sun, bathing it in darkness for more than two minutes.
Metro spoke with two stargazing experts about the best places to see the eclipse in the UK, and the Met Office has also shared a list of the best places to catch a glimpse of the event.
As excitement ramps up, however, warnings have been issued to eclipse-gazers about the danger of using your phone to watch the solar eclipse as shops run out of eclipse glasses across the UK.
Follow Metro’s solar eclipse live blog to stay updated on all things space
From the UK’s point of view, the meteor shower will come from the direction of Perseus – a constellation in the north-eastern sky – so try to look that way to catch the shower.
There are a number of stargazing apps that can help you find the constellation’s location in the sky.
But the number of meteors you’ll be able to see will greatly depend on your location and the weather. While it’s set to be clear in the south of England tonight and cloudy further north, you’ll still want to check your local forecast before heading out!
What causes the Perseid meteor shower?
Space is full of near-endless rubbish, from dirt and dust to ice. Sometimes, all of this ice gets clumped into one big dirty snowball called a comet.
After gravity slings them into our Solar System, they leave behind trails of ice and rock that linger in space for years.
Eventually, as the Earth laps the Sun, we drift into clouds of these particles, which enter the atmosphere at such a speed that they burn up and become shooting stars.
Many small meteors vaporise, leaving behind a trail of light, while larger meteors explode as fireballs. This process can last for days and even weeks, with the peak occurring when our planet passes through the densest part of this cosmic debris.
Perseid’s bright fireballs come from the muck left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862 by both Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle.
Officially known as 109P/Swift-Tuttle, the comet takes 133 years to orbit the Sun. It reached the closest point to the sun, called perihelion, in 1992 and is expected to reach it once again in 2125.
If you do miss the solar eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower, don’t worry! The UK will be treated to yet another spectacular full moon at the end of the month!
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