Latest news with #Per-see-id
Leader Live
6 hours ago
- Science
- Leader Live
Eryri the UK's best spot to watch Perseid meteor shower
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the brightest and fastest meteor showers of the year. The shower lights up the night sky each summer and is known for its fast-moving meteors - often dubbed "shooting stars". "The Perseid (Per-see-id) meteor shower is one of the most dramatic things to see in the night sky between July and August, and is a highlight of many meteor hunters' calendars due to its high hourly rate and bright meteors," Royal Museums Greenwich adds. The Perseids come from a comet called Swift–Tuttle, which orbits the Sun once every 133 years. The rocks collide with Earth's atmosphere at high speeds (between seven and 45 miles per second, causing the meteors to vaporise and leave behind a bright trail of light, also known as shooting stars. The average speed for a Perseid meteor is around 36 miles per second, according to Royal Museums Greenwich. The Perseid meteor shower has been active since July 17 and is expected to last until August 24. However, tonight (Tuesday, August 12) will be the best time to see them as the shower reaches its peak, with around 150 meteors per hour expected, Royal Museums Greenwich reports. The best time to see the meteor shower will be between 12am and 5:30am. 🌠 The Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight on 12 August! However, the almost-full Moon will unfortunately drown out a lot of the fainter meteors. Learn more, including when and where to see them, here: 📷 Meteor Shower Over the Lighthouse © Yoshiki Abe For those hoping to catch a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower, Royal Museums Greenwich has provided a few tips to help: The UK's best spots for stargazing and catching a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower, according to Planet Cruise, are: Recommended Reading: How can you take a photo of the Northern Lights? (A guide for beginners) WATCH: Family captures 'bright shooting star' on doorbell camera BBC and Met Office to join forces to deliver UK's 'most-trusted' weather service Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park was named the UK's best stargazing spot by Planet Cruise, making it the ideal location for watching the Perseid meteor shower. The experts explained: "With an elevation of 700 metres and extremely low light pollution, it offers breathtaking views of the Milky Way, constellations, and even meteor showers. "The vast national park provides numerous vantage points, ensuring an unforgettable stargazing experience."
Metro
11 hours ago
- Science
- Metro
Perseid meteor shower to peak today - when and where to see cosmic fireworks
Stuck on our silly little planet in the abyss of space, there's only so much of the universe's wonders we can actually see. But today, the Earth will get a front row seat to something pretty wonderful – a meteor shower, nature's firework display. The Perseid (Per-see-id) meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers each year, with as many as 150 colourful shooting stars an hour. It has been active since July 17 and will last until August 24, but its peak, when activity is the greatest, is from tonight to before dawn tomorrow. Space is full of near-endless rubbish: dirt, dust and ice. Sometimes, all 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 does laps around the Sun, we drift into these particles, which enter the atmosphere at such a speed that they burn up and become shooting stars. This can last for days and even weeks, with the peak being 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. From our point of view, the meteor shower will come from Perseus, a constellation in the north-eastern sky. The best time to see the Perseids is between 12am and 5.30am. The second the Sun sets, the Perseids will be visible, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. While you might assume you need telescopes and binoculars, you only need your eyes to see the hundreds of colourful streaks. This expensive kit can obscure your vision, making just looking up the best option. Find somewhere as dark as possible, with a clear horizon, and give your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness, so maybe dig out a deckchair. How many meteors you'll be able to see, however, depends a lot on where in the UK you live. The shower will be visible everywhere in the UK, like most of the northern hemisphere. Light pollution, however, can make seeing stars, let alone of the shooting kind, next to impossible. Planetariums, astronomy clubs, or even maps like this one can help you find the darkest spots near you. More Trending The Moon could make things tricky, however. While the Full Moon was last week, our lunar neighbour will still be big and bright in the sky. According to timeanddate, the Moon also won't set until about 9/10am, so the lights from the meteor shower will be competing with the Moon. Tools like this one from the Global Meteor Network show how many meteors per hour will be visible. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Perseid meteor shower to peak tomorrow – when and where to see cosmic fireworks in the UK MORE: Scientists have created 'super alcohol' – but your nearest pub is in deep space MORE: Global space race hots up with UK's 'first rocket launch' and moon reactor plans
Metro
a day ago
- Science
- Metro
Perseid meteor shower to peak tomorrow - when and where to see cosmic fireworks
Stuck on our silly little planet in the abyss of space, there's only so much of the universe's wonders we can actually see. But tomorrow, the Earth will get a front row seat to something pretty wonderful – a meteor shower, nature's firework display. The Perseid (Per-see-id) meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers each year, with as many as 150 colourful shooting stars an hour. It has been active since July 17 and will last until August 24, but its peak, when activity is the greatest, is from tomorrow to Wednesday. Space is full of near-endless rubbish: dirt, dust and ice. Sometimes, all 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 does laps around the Sun, we drift into these particles which enter the atmpsohere at such a speed that they burn up and become shooting stars. This can last for days and even weeks, with the peak being when our planet is passing through the densest part of this cosmic debris. From our point of view, the meteor shower will seemingly come from the same place in the sky. In Perseid's case, the bright fireballs come from muck left behind buy the Comet Swift-Tuttle which will comes from the constellation Perseus, a constellation in the northern sky. The second the Sun sets, the Perseids will be visible, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. The best time to see the Perseids is between 12am and 5.30am. While you might assume you need telescopes and binoculors, you only need your eyes to see the hundreds of colourful streaks. This expensive kit can obscure your vision, making just looking up the best option. Just make sure to give your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness. How many meteors you'll actually be able to see, however, depends a lot on where in the UK you live. The shower will be visible everywhere in the UK, like most of the northern hemisphere. More Trending Light pollution, however, can make seeing stars, let alone of the shooting kind, next to impossible. Planetariums, local astronomy clubs or even maps like this one can help you find the darkest spots near you. The Moon could make things tricky, however. While the Full Moon was last week, our lunar neighbour will still be big and bright in the sky. According to timeanddate, the Moon also won't set until about 9/10am, so the lights from the meteor shower will be competing with the Moon. Tools like this one from the Global Meteor Network show how many meteors per hour will be visible. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Scientists have created 'super alcohol' – but your nearest pub is in deep space MORE: Global space race hots up with UK's 'first rocket launch' and moon reactor plans MORE: Earth is spinning so fast that today will be shorter – but is time going faster?
