Eyes to the skies
People across the UK are set to be wowed by a spectacular meteor shower predicted to be at its best tonight.
The lightshow is part of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower which brings in the start of the summer meteor season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Endearingly referred to as shooting stars, meteors are often tricky to spot because of their fleeting visibility, however with 25 per hour predicted to tear across the night sky, you’ll have a decent chance of catching the show.
The Delta Aquariids are believed to originate from debris left by the comet 96P/Macholz, which is four miles wide and takes just over five years to orbit the sun. During this orbit, ice inside the coment vaporises, causing small bits of rock and dust to be loosened.
This debris is then seen as streaks of light in the sky as it burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere, producing the Delta Aquariids.
The meteor shower started in mid-July when the Earth first started passing through the debris and will last until late August. However, it’s now that the shower is at its peak.
NASA recommends looking to the skies during the “dark hours” at night. This is the period after the moon has set and before the sun has risen, which is from around midnight until 2am in the UK.
Conditions seem to be pretty ideal as well, with clear skies forecast across much of the country.
Speaking to the Guardian, Prof Catherine Heymans, Scotland’s astronomer royal, said a “truly dark sky location” was key for spying some meteors.
She told the publication: “To really appreciate this spectacular light show you’ll need to get away from the street lights and out into the countryside if you can. Then it’s just a case of lying face-up on a blanket with a thermos of hot chocolate, watching and waiting for those shooting stars to streak across the sky.”
Prof Heymans also said it was key not to look at your phone, as our eyes “take more than 10 minutes to get dark-adapted.”
And if you don’t manage to catch them, you will get another chance to spot a meteor shower in a couple of weeks.
On August 12-13, the Perseids shower, which NASA has labelled the “best meteor shower of the year,” will be peak.
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