The Perseid Meteor Shower Starts This Week. Here's Why You Should Look up Now

The 'most beautiful' meteor shower ever returns to UK skies

The Perseid meteor shower, often called the 'most beautiful' and 'dramatic' meteor shower, is back. Here's how to see it in the UK before it ends.

The Perseid meteor shower starts this week. Here's why you should look up now

People keep asking me about the total solar eclipse on August 12. That's understandable. For anyone in the Northern Hemisphere, it is shaping up to be a joyous day of astronomy. Totality will cross eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain, but much of Europe will see a very deep partial eclipse, and even parts of North America will see a small bite taken from the sun. Then, just hours later, the Perseid meteor shower will peak benea…

The Year’s Best Meteor Shower Is Here—Here’s How to See It

It will reach its peak in August.Credit: J.P.Andersen Images / Getty ImagesTake advantage of the warm summer nights to catch an out-of-this-world light show, starting tonight.Considered to be the best meteor shower of the year, the Perseids begin on July 17 and are expected to last until August 24, according to the American Meteor Society. This shower typically peaks in mid-August, producing “swift and bright” meteors, as NASA describes them, th…