Starry nights ahead: Celestial spectacle to light up skies through August
The annual
Perseid meteor shower
kicked off on July 17, and will continue till August 23, according to Nasa. Known for its bright, swift meteors that often leave behind long, colourful trails, the Perseids remain one of the most anticipated sky events of the year.
Why it happens
This spectacular display takes place as Earth moves through a trail of debris left by
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle
. The tiny particles — many no larger than a grain of sand — burn up in Earth's atmosphere, producing the brilliant streaks of light that illuminate the night sky.
When and where it is visible
The shower is set to peak on the night of August 12 into the early hours of August 13. Under ideal conditions, sky watchers can witness 50 to 75 meteors per hour, with the count potentially soaring to 150 meteors per hour in denser regions of the debris stream.
Experts from the American meteor society told USA Today that viewing conditions in 2025 won't be ideal, as a full moon on August 9 is likely to drown out the dimmer meteors, making the spectacle less vivid than usual.
According to BBC Weather, while the meteor shower will be visible across the UK from July 17 to August 24, cloud cover and thundery downpours over the weekend may hamper visibility. Clearer skies are expected the following week, improving chances for a successful sighting.
How to get the best view of the meteor shower
For the best experience:
Head to a dark location, far from city lights
Look for the radiant point in the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky
Watch between midnight and just before sunrise
Allow your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, and avoid using smartphones or any bright screens to preserve night vision.
No telescope or binoculars needed
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
NASA-ISRO mission — NISAR — all set for launch today
IN ONE of its most anticipated missions in recent years, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), a sophisticated and expensive earth observation satellite developed in collaboration with NASA, from Sriharikota on Wednesday. The launch will see India's GSLV rocket, for the first time, inject a satellite into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit, an orbit in which the satellite will scan over the same point on Earth at the same time each day. Usually, PSLV is utilised for such an orbit, but NISAR is a heavier satellite, beyond the capability of a PSLV. The GSLV launch vehicle has so far been used to put satellites only in a geosynchronous transfer orbit, a highly elliptical orbit that is used as an intermediary to easily take satellites to the high geosynchronous orbits at around 36,000 km where they move with the Earth to remain over the same location every single day. 'This has been a much-anticipated launch,' said ISRO chairperson Dr V Narayanan. The NISAR satellite is capable of mapping the Earth during the day and the night and in any weather condition. The satellite will scan the entire globe every 12 days, providing a series of very detailed images of the Earth's surface that can capture changes even as small as a centimetre. 'This is a very advanced satellite that can capture even the slightest of the movements on the Earth's surface. These observations can help them in mapping changes such as volcanic hazard or landslides and prepare in advance. This is a result of a collaboration that started nearly 10 years ago,' said former ISRO chairperson K Sivan. The mission marks the first hardware collaboration between the Indian and the US space agencies, with each providing a different radar system for the satellite. NASA's L-band radar and ISRO's S band radar are sensitive to two different sizes of features on the Earth as well as two different types of attributes such as moisture content, surface roughness and motion. The NISAR satellite is meant to capture detailed information about various systems on Earth such as the changing surface and interior of the planet like magma and volcano eruptions, the cold regions with its ice cover, glaciers, sea ice and permafrost, the terrestrial ecosystems like forest cover, rivers, crop fields as well as the water. It will provide important data to researchers across the globe for better management of natural resources, planning for natural disasters, and importantly, understanding the effects and the pace of climate change. NISAR cannot predict floods or forest fires but can observe the minutest of changes and provide risk assessment analysis. The 2,392-kg satellite will be put in a 747-km circular orbit nearly 19 minutes after launch. The mission life of the satellite is five years. GSLV's previous launch, earlier this year, had not been entirely successful. While the launch vehicle did place the NVS-02 satellite in the intended orbit, the satellite could not undertake further manoeuvres needed to reach the final orbit. A GSLV launch had also failed in 2021, owing to a pressure drop in the liquid hydrogen tank in the cryogenic stage. From the launch date, it will take eight to 10 days for the satellite's full deployment, including the complete blooming of the antenna. Post the launch of any space mission, there is a calibration and testing phase. If the launch is realised on July 30, then NISAR will remain under a 65-day engineering phase during which the preliminary tests and calibration will be performed. On day 65 after the launch, the first, full-frame science data will be taken and the science teams will check for its quality and other parameters. The actual science phase of NISAR will commence on day 70 after the launch. The scientific commissioning phase of NISAR will commence on day 90. Some of the planned applications of the NISAR satellite include: • Monitor changes in surface water and soil moisture: This data can provide actionable points to mitigate or better deal with occurrences such as flooding, landslides, crop failures, droughts and wildfires • Earthquakes: The data from the satellite can be used to map fault zones and fault systems, where an earthquake is likely to occur. Their long-term study can also help in forecasting. Following an earthquake, the data can also be used to locate the areas of damage • Permafrost: NISAR can observe the changes to the permafrost — the frozen sub-surface layer — that can inform about the communities that may be affected • Volcanic eruptions: The data from the satellite can be used to characterise and monitor volcanic processes, build models of sub-surface magma movement before, during, and after eruptions. This will facilitate eruption forecasting
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Countdown begins for NISAR satellite launch on July 30, 2025
The countdown for the NISAR satellite mission started at 2.10 p.m. on Tuesday (July 29, 2025). The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with the 2,392-kg satellite is scheduled to lift off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.40 p.m. on Wednesday (July 30, 2025). About 19 minutes after lift-off, the GSLV-F16 rocket will inject the NISAR satellite into a 743-km sun-synchronous orbit. The NISAR satellite — NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite — will scan the Earth and provide all-weather, day-and-night data at 12-day intervals, and enable a wide range of applications. It is the first joint satellite of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Senior NASA officials said that working with the ISRO on the mission has strengthened their relationship. The Director of Earth Science, NASA Headquarters, Karen St. Germain said, 'Building a satellite on opposite sides of the world during a global pandemic was really hard, but it strengthened our relationship with ISRO. The collaboration, the cooperation, information sharing, and, frankly, joint learning between our two agencies is a foundation that we look forward to continuing to build upon.' She added that NISAR is a model for the next generation of Earth observation capability. 'India built the spacecraft bus and the S-band radar and is providing the launch vehicle, launch services, and satellite mission operations. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) built the L-band radar and the mission's radar reflector and boom. NASA is also providing a high-rated communications subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and the payload data subsystem,' she added. Phil Barela, NISAR project manager, JPL, said that the two space agencies learnt a lot from each other in the last decade. 'We have been at this for over a decade with our partner, ISRO, and it has been a phenomenal journey. The amount that we have learned from each other during this period has just been phenomenal,' Mr. Barela said. He added that during the height of COVID-19 pandemic, around 65 ISRO engineers visited JPL to work on the integration and conduct tests. 'Over the last two-and-a-half years, NASA has sent out over 175 engineers to ISRO's facilities to keep the integration and tests going and get us ready for where we stand today and ready for launch. It has been a wonderful journey. I'm anticipating a lot of very happy people, not only in the U.S., but also in India,' he added.
NDTV
6 hours ago
- NDTV
Who Owns The Moon? Know What Outer Space Treaty Means For The World
Many countries have their flags on the Moon, but no one owns it. On July 20, the world celebrated 56 years since the Apollo 11 mission successfully landed on the lunar surface. NASA's mission has inspired other nations to explore the Moon, as four countries have successfully landed spacecraft there: the United States, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), China and India. There's a race to land on the Moon, with NASA planning to send humans back to the Moon, with its Artemis astronauts aiming for a 2026 landing. On the other hand, China claims it will send humans to the Moon by 2030. Some scientists also say that the plan is to build permanent bases on the Moon. However, our Moon doesn't belong to anyone, thanks to the Outer Space Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. The treaty provides a basic framework in international space law. The treaty had been adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 1962 (XVIII) in 1963, but it added a few new provisions. Here are some of the key provisions of the Outer Space Treaty Outer space is free to explore: All countries can explore and use outer space without claims of national appropriation or ownership. No use of nuclear weapons: Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction are prohibited in orbit around the Earth, on celestial bodies, or in outer space. Peaceful purposes: Outer space shall be used for peaceful purposes, and countries shall conduct their activities in accordance with international law. International cooperation: Countries shall cooperate with each other in the exploration and use of outer space.
