Perseids meteor shower: How to see it, when it will pass overhead – and how to actually pronounce it
Two things are likely to get in your way – but you can do something about one of them
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Your support makes all the difference.The Perseid meteor shower is coming, and it will be better than ever. So you'll need to be even more careful to make sure you see it.
The shower of shooting stars is caused by dust coming off the comet Swift-Tuttle, as it flies past the Earth. As they smash into our atmosphere, they light up and glow, causing the effect of what looks like shooting stars.
And it will light up the sky with a stunning display.
This year, they'll be better than ever: the new moon is arriving right at the same time as the peak of the Perseids, meaning they won't have to fight for their stage. Since the moon will be darker, the meteor shower wil be brighter.
When should I see them?
The Perseids have already begun. But the reason everyone is so excited at the moment is because the display will peak this weekend.
The very peak will be the very early morning of Monday, in the UK, or Sunday evening in the US. But they'll be visible all that night and the days before and after.
How do I see them?
In short, go outside and look up. In practice, it's a little more complicated than that.
There's two main things you're going to want to avoid: clouds and light. And there's only one of those things you can do anything about.
You'll have to check the cloud forecast for your local area and pick a time when it's going to be clear. If there are some clouds, you should be safe – the stars shoot across the sky, after all – but if the cloud cover is complete you might just have to wait it out.
But the light is a little more resolvable. Just make sure you head out somewhere as dark as you can: the darker the sky, the more likely you are to see anything.
The flipside is that if you're stuck in the city then you're probably not going to see anything at all.
How do you pronounce it?
Somewhere between “percy id” and “purse id”.
If you want to hear that pronunciation instead, check out this explanation from Nasa.
The same video explains plenty besides, too.
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