The ‘best meteor shower of the year’ will be visible over the UK this week

The Perseid meteors are active between mid-July and the end of August, and this year they will be reaching their peak this week. 

There is set to be as many as 50 to 100 comets flying across the sky each hour, as part of the spectacle this week.

To get the best glimpse of the meteor shower, you’re gonna have to stay up late. The Royal Observatory advises that The Perseids will be most visible between midnight and 5:30am.

The meteors will be flying across the skies on the nights of August 11th and 12th, meaning you can get a glimpse as early as tomorrow evening!

According to the Royal Observatory: “[The shower] is always above the horizon as seen from the UK, which means that observers in the UK should be able to see some meteors as soon as the Sun sets.

“Therefore, it is worth looking up in the early evening.

“It is always favourable to try and spot meteors when the Moon is below the horizon or when it is in its crescent phase, because otherwise it will act as a natural light pollution and will prevent the fainter meteors from being visible.”

Many stargazers wait all year for this extra special meteor shower due to the rate and brightness of the meteors.

The Perseid meteor shower is caused as the Earth moves through a stream of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has a huge 133-year orbit.

The particles hit the Earth at a super speed of 37 miles per second, burning and streaking across the sky.

It is possible to see some rare meteors just before midnight that graze the Earth’s atmosphere and produce the occasional bright long trail, called a ‘fireball’.

The Royal Observatory recommends heading to the countryside for the best view, and to ensure you’re in an area of clear skies.

Find out more about the Perseid meteor shower here.