Set Your Eyes To The Sky For The Biggest Perseid Shower in 20 Years!
- annagrimard
- Aug 8, 2016
- 2 min read
Trade in the bright lights of the city for something altogether different. This Thursday and Friday, the Perseid Meteor shower is taking place, and scientists are predicting it to be something extra special.
The amount of shooting stars is expected to double from the traditional rate this year because of an extra pull from Jupiter. For those who aren’t astronomers, that means that there could be as many as 200 shooting stars an hour! And not just meteors, but some of the brighter flares known as Fireballs will be seen as well.
Make sure you get to bed early because the peak viewing times start at around 2am Friday morning. And be sure to find a spot far enough from artificial light. (Maybe check out the Wicklow Mountains or venture out to the Connemara.)
But if you can’t get away from the city lights, here are a few tips to make the most of the Perseid shower.
Find a park, field, or beach with relatively small amounts of artificial light.
Give your eyes time to adjust. It takes around 45 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the darkness so give them plenty of time to switch over so you can see as many meteors as possible.
No direction is better than another. You won’t need to look to the south-east at 10degrees, just pick a spot, lie down, and look up. They’ll do the rest.
And most importantly, be patient. No one is flicking a switch for this show, so just let nature do its thing, relax and enjoy!
If 2am isn’t your best hour or you just can’t make it, the Perseid shower will be shown via webcast through NASA.
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