Topline<\/p>\n
The annual Perseid meteor shower<\/a> may have peaked overnight on Monday and Tuesday, but it did so in a night sky bleached by strong moonlight that blotted out many of the fainter \u201cshooting stars.\u201d Although the peak rate of meteors has since reduced, a darker sky this weekend may mean lingering Perseids are visible at night. <\/p>\n The annual Perseid meteor shower peaked earlier this week, but the waning gibbous moon moves out of the evening sky this weekend, potentially making more meteors visible. . (Photo by VCG\/VCG via Getty Images)<\/p>\n VCG via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n The Perseid meteor shower, one of the highlights of the stargazing calendar, can produce up to 75 \u201cshooting stars\u201d per hour in a dark, moonless night sky.<\/p>\n The 84%-lit waning gibbous moon, which lessened the Perseids\u2019 impact on Monday night, will have reduced in brightness by the weekend and will rise around midnight, creating a window of moonless darkness beforehand. <\/p>\n The radiant point of the Perseids is the constellation Perseus, which, from the Northern Hemisphere, rises in the northeast as the sky darkens during August. However, \u201cshooting stars\u201d can be seen anywhere in the night sky. <\/p>\n The Perseid meteor shower is caused by comet 109P\/Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the sun and hasn’t been in the inner solar system since 1992. At 16 miles (26 kilometers) across, it\u2019s bigger than the object that killed the dinosaurs, according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n How To Watch A Meteor Shower<\/p>\n The best advice for viewing the most meteor showers is to escape from light pollution by using a light pollution map<\/a> or by heading to a certified Dark Sky Place<\/a> \u2014 be sure to check the weather forecast for a clear sky. According to NASA<\/a>, the best way to observe a meteor shower is to find a location with a clear view of the night sky. Have warm layers, bug spray, snacks, drinks, and plenty of patience. Don\u2019t look at a smartphone \u2014 its light will remove your night vision for at least 20 minutes. <\/p>\n When To See The Perseids And The Pleiades<\/p>\n If you\u2019re outside after dark looking for Perseids on Friday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 16, watch for the moon to rise in the east. It will be positioned very close to the Pleiades, also known as M45, one of the most beautiful sights in the night sky. An open cluster of stars about 445 light-years from the solar system, the Pleiades looks fabulous with the naked eye. However, using binoculars reveals many more stars arranged in a shape that resembles a mini Big Dipper. <\/p>\n See The \u2018planet Parade\u2019 At Its Best<\/p>\n If you stay up into the early hours this weekend, you\u2019ll see the best of the \u201cplanet parade\u201d currently in the news. Jupiter and Venus are easily visible, rising in the east, while Saturn is located in the south. Just before the light of dawn begins to overwhelm the planets, a fourth will appear due east \u2014 Mercury. Although it\u2019s been technically in the night sky for a few days, it\u2019s this weekend when it becomes easiest to see, though only for a few mornings before it\u2019s once again lost in the sun\u2019s glare. <\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesSee The Perseid Meteor Shower Now Before It Peaks, Experts SayBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesThe Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Thursday: When To See It At Its BestBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesThe Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Thursday: When To See It At Its BestBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline The annual Perseid meteor shower may have peaked overnight on Monday and Tuesday, but it did so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[122795,17172,90961,109906,90960,3890,70,15708,12884,16,15,20630,90963],"class_list":{"0":"post-346024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-conjunction","9":"tag-jupiter","10":"tag-perseid-meteor-shower","11":"tag-perseids","12":"tag-perseids-2025","13":"tag-planets","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-shooting-stars","16":"tag-solar-system","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-venus","20":"tag-when-is-meteor-shower"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115031750889193275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}