A few weeks ago the blue moon took centre stage, but this week all eyes will be on the year's most active meteor shower.
Up to 100 shooting stars an hour can be seen in the skies above this week as the Perseid meteor shower peaks – and absolutely anyone can see this, wherever they are in the northern hemisphere (folks south of the equator can still see some shooting stars, but nowhere near as many). Here's how to see, and photograph, one of the highlights of the stargazing calendar.
What am I looking for?
Most shooting stars will be visible for just a fraction of a second from the corner of your eyes, but every now and then you'll also see big, bright, sparkling "earth-grazer" fireballs that often appear to leave a trail behind them, and last a full second or so.
When and where will I see shooting stars?
The short answer is to go outside on Wednesday night at about midnight and look the sky. To see shooting stars you need three things: complete darkness (so turn off all the lights in the back of your house), clear skies, and the patience to look at the sky for about 20 minutes unrewarded.
If you can manage that last one, congratulate yourself for being in the 1% of humans who possess such a skill: you will then be rewarded with up to 100 shooting stars in the next hour.
Although the major shower will peak in the very early hours of Thursday morning, some shooting stars will be visible for the entire week, so if there are clear skies on Monday or Tuesday night it's worth venturing outside at about midnight (especially if rain or cloud is predicted for Wednesday or Thursday nights).
You could see shooting stars anywhere in the night sky, though as the name suggests they will appear to radiate from the constellation of Perseus, which will be in the northeastern sky.
What is the Perseid meteor shower?
The Perseids are the result of earth's orbit of the Sun hurtling through a stack of debris left over from a comet called Comet Swift-Tuttle, which passed through the solar system most recently in 1992 on its 133-year orbit of the Sun. It's called the Tears of St Lawrence by Catholics because it coincides with that saint's day.
How do I find Perseus?
If you're unfamiliar with the night sky at this time of year, there are a plethora of planetarium apps for phones and tablets. Use them sparingly (otherwise they may prevent you seeing shooting stars, see below), but apps including Star Walk and Night Sky (the latter of which is also available for Apple Watch) will all easily find you the constellation of Perseus, which is just below the W-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia.
Fix your gaze on this patch of sky, and above, but don't get dogmatic about it: a meteor might just as easily start above your head and whizz south. However, to look low to the southern horizon would be a mistake. You'll probably notice the massive Summer Triangle nearby in the eastern sky – three very bright stars that sits across the Milky Way. Stay outside long enough looking for meteors and your eyes may get sensitive enough to glimpse this wonderful sight.
What equipment do I need to see shooting stars?
Definitely not a telescope or a pair of binoculars, which will limit your view of the night sky so much that you won't see any shooting stars. However, that's not to say that you don't need any gear at all. Perhaps the most important piece of equipment is a sun lounger or deckchair, which will save you a pain in the neck, and ultimately allow you to stay outside for longer.
Also important is a head torch for finding your way to from your observing position, but be careful to choose one that has a red light mode. The USB-rechargeable Petzl Tikka+ or the cheaper AlpKit Gamma are good choices, whose crucially important red modes will save your night vision. Resist the temptation to look at your smartphone or go back inside your house. Every time your eyes see white light, your night vision goes back to zero, and you will have to wait another 20 minutes for it to return.
How do I photograph shooting stars?
There are rarely better conditions for photographing the Perseids than this week's almost moon-less skies, but it's largely a matter of hit-and-hope. Forget your phone – its sensor is nowhere near sensitive enough. What you need is a camera with manual controls, mounted on a tripod.
Any DSLR, such as the Canon EOS 5DS or Nikon D7200 will do the trick, though compacts/bridge cameras that allow manual control – such as the Panasonic LX100, the Canon G3 X, Canon SX60 HS or the Sony RX10 will do the trick, too.
What settings should I use?
The Amazing Sky recommends using a f/2.8 or faster wide-angle lens (10mm to 24mm), setting the ISO to 800, and taking exposures of over 20-30 seconds while the focus manually set to just below infinity (take some test shots to make sure they're sharp and correctly exposed). A wired or wireless remote to trigger your camera's shutter remotely is essential to avoid camera-shake and blur.
If your camera has a built-in intervalometer, another option is to set-up your camera to take about 100 or more 30-second exposures, one after the other, and then use RegiStax (for PC users) or StarStaX (for Mac users) to produce a star-trail, which will hopefully have shooting stars all over the image. (Star-trail photography is hot right now.)
If your camera doesn't allow you to automatically take timed exposures in quick succession, the Alpine Labs Michron device can be configured using a smartphone app, then inserted into a camera. Then you can just sit back and watch the show while the camera does its work.
If you time it exactly right by checking the Heavens Above website, you might even be able to get the International Space Station in the shot, too. It takes about five minutes to cross the sky from west to east, and is brightest between about 10pm and midnight this week.
Why is the Perseid meteor shower unmissable?
As well as being the most active meteor shower of the year, the Perseids are brilliantly timed for northern hemisphere stargazers. Since the shooting stars are more numerous after midnight, the reasonably warm temperatures of August make it much easier to stand outside for long periods than for the next best meteor shower, the Geminids, which peak in mid-December when it's too cold to stay outdoors for long. Plus, a bright full moon often ruins the Perseids' visibility, but this year the Moon is edging toward new, so there will be no moonlight whatsoever.
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