Dazzling apex of the Perseid meteor shower to occur on Tuesday evening

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most anticipated celestial events of the year, is currently gracing the night skies and will continue until around August 24. This annual spectacle is set to peak on Tuesday night, offering stargazers an opportunity to witness a dazzling display of shooting stars.

For observers in the southern parts of the UK, the meteor shower will be lower on the horizon. However, fear not, as the best places to view the Perseid meteor shower under dark, shielded landscapes with minimal light pollution are rural or mountainous areas at mid-northern latitudes. The Cévennes National Park in France, or other remote locations far from city lights, are ideal spots for an unobstructed 360° sky view.

The Earth collides with debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet every summer, and this year is no exception. These specks as small as a grain of dust or rice create shooting stars when they enter the Earth's atmosphere. Rarer meteors the size of a fist or basketball produce longer tails and are known as fireballs. While Dr. Ed Bloomer, an astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich, has only ever seen one fireball, the hourly rate of meteors is fairly high, making it suitable for beginners.

To maximise your viewing experience, it is recommended to find a location away from city lights and street lamps. Let your eyes adjust to the dark for half an hour before viewing the meteor shower, as it is summer and viewers should wait until relatively late at night for it to be dark enough to see the meteor shower. If necessary, viewers can use their peripheral vision to see the meteors more easily in low light conditions.

The Perseid meteor shower will be in the north-east as the sun is going down. Around 150 meteors cross the sky per hour, but only around 100 can be seen in certain dark and flat locations. The optimal viewing time is between midnight and dawn around August 11-13, focusing on the radiant in the constellation Perseus high in the northeastern sky.

It's worth noting that the waning moon could make the Perseid meteor shower less visible early in the week. However, as the week progresses, the moon will set earlier, allowing for better visibility of the meteor shower.

Finally, it's important to remember that while the Perseid meteor shower is a spectacular event, a bolide, a rare event that is considered a "national emergency type thing," is extremely unlikely. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!