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Get ready for a perfect Perseid meteor show

Conditions are just right for a spectacular display of shooting stars, if the clouds stay away.
Conditions are just right for a spectacular display of shooting stars, if the clouds stay away. Conditions are just right for a spectacular display of shooting stars, if the clouds stay away.

A glorious display of Perseid meteors is set to light up the skies over the UK on Sunday night.

With a new moon providing an extra-dark backdrop to the spectacle, the shooting stars will be brighter than ever.

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the highpoints in the celestial calendar, occurs each year as the Earth ploughs through dusty debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

Perseid meteor shower
Perseid meteor shower A Perseid shooting star (Pete Lawrence/PA)

As the particles, ranging in size from a grain of sand to a pea, hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 60km (37 miles) per second, they burn up and streak across the sky.

Once darkness falls on August 12, sky-watchers can expect to see one of the shooting stars every few minutes.

The Perseids reach their peak in the early hours of August 13 when up to 70 per hour should be visible.

Perseid meteor shower
Perseid meteor shower A Perseid meteor over Avebury’s neolithic henge monument in Wiltshire (Tim Ireland/PA)

Dr Robert Massey, from the Royal Astronomical Society, said: “The shower will be visible all over the UK, as long as the skies are clear.

“Unlike a lot of celestial events, meteor showers are easy to watch and no special equipment is needed, although a reclining chair and a blanket make viewing much more comfortable.”

To make the best of the meteors, observers should avoid built-up areas and try to find an unobstructed view to the east.

SCIENCE Perseids
SCIENCE Perseids (PA Graphics)

The shooting stars will appear to come from a single point, or “radiant”, situated in the constellation Perseus, that climbs higher as the night progresses.

Greater numbers of meteors are visible when the radiant is high. But the most spectacular long-lasting meteors, known as “Earthgrazers”, can be seen when the radiant is still low above the horizon.

Lucky observers may see the occasional meteor sailing across the sky for several seconds, leaving behind a trail of glowing smoke.