It has been a really good summer season for stargazers. First, we ended up addressed to a clear perspective of Comet Neowise, and now a meteor shower is lighting up our night time skies.
The Perseid meteor shower will come all over just about every summer season. It receives its identify for the reason that the meteors feel to originate from the constellation of Perseus.
The shower can be stunning, and you do not want binoculars or a telescope to see it.
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Listed here is almost everything you require to know about how to catch a glimpse…
What is the Perseid meteor shower?
Meteors are created by comets breaking up when they get close to the sunshine. Some of that debris ends up in the Earth’s route all-around the sunshine, and hits our ambiance at speeds up to 45 miles per 2nd.
Because they are travelling so fast, the air in entrance of the meteor is squashed and heated to hundreds of levels. More compact meteors vaporise, leaving guiding a bright trail of light. Greater meteors can explode as fireballs.
This shower appears to emanate from the constellation of Perseus, who was the Greek hero who beheaded Medusa.
When are the meteors most visible in the British isles?
The meteor shower is lively among 17 July and 24 August, but reaches its peak on 12 August – that night is when the most meteors will be obvious.
On this night you will be ready to see as quite a few as 100 per hour.
The very best time to see it is when the sky is darkest, so in between midnight and the really early several hours of the morning.
Having said that, in the Uk it is really probable to see it as soon as the sunshine sets – so lengthy as you are in an place with extremely small light-weight pollution.
Tips for obtaining the most effective see
Meteors can seem anyplace in the sky, so attempt to find somewhere with the broadest see of the sky attainable – preferably an spot with no tall structures and trees, where by you can see the encompassing horizon. You will need it to be a apparent night.
Mild pollution can also be an concern, so the even more into the countryside you are, the better. If you are confined to an region with street lights, struggling with absent from them can help.
You require to give your eyes at the very least 15 minutes to change to the darkness, as this will enable you see the fainter meteors. This means you need to not be searching at your cellular phone.
