Perseid meteor shower peaks as total solar eclipse crosses Europe
The Perseids are expected to produce up to 100 meteors per hour on Wednesday night, coinciding with a total solar eclipse in parts of Europe, with optimal viewing after totality under new-moon skies.
The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, overlapping with a total solar eclipse that will be visible in parts of Europe. NASA estimates that under ideal dark-sky conditions as many as 50 to 100 meteors per hour could be seen, while the American Meteor Society projects 30 to 50 per hour from rural locations.
The meteors originate from debris left by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 133 years and is not expected to return until 2125. The shower will occur during a new-moon phase, reducing lunar glare and improving visibility.
"We don't have to suffer through a cold winter night to get a good view of meteors," said astronomer Zach Vanderbosch of the McDonald Observatory in Texas.
"New moon means we don't have moonlight flooding the sky, and you tend to see way more meteors as a result," added astronomer Aparna Venkatesan of the University of San Francisco.
Observers are advised to find a dark site away from city lights, preferably between midnight and dawn when the constellation Perseus is high in the northern sky. Vanderbosch recommends focusing on a small patch of sky and allowing the eyes half an hour to adjust to darkness.
The solar eclipse will begin around 6:08 p.m. in Scotland and end by about 8:10 p.m. across the United Kingdom, with maximum coverage occurring between 7:05 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Viewers are reminded to use certified eclipse glasses for safety.