The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak early on Thursday morning (August 13), with around 100 shooting stars visible per hour. This is the first time the peak of a major meteor shower has coincided with a solar eclipse, according to experts.
Peak timing and visibility
The eclipse took place early on Wednesday evening (August 12). The Perseid meteor shower has been ongoing for weeks, but its peak starts a few hours after the eclipse and lasts for two days, on Wednesday and Thursday night.
On Wednesday night, meteors are most visible from around midnight until dawn on Thursday. Scientists say the peak of activity will be around 3am on Thursday morning, when around 100 shooting stars can be seen per hour.
What to expect Thursday night
Even if you miss the peak, Thursday night into Friday morning will still be a good time to spot shooting stars, as experts say around 50 will be visible per hour in dark locations. Usually, the number of meteors drops off by 40-50 percent in the nights following the peak.
Given that the Perseid is one of the most active and reliable meteor showers, there is still a good chance to spot a shooting star on Thursday night and Friday morning. The Perseids are expected to last until August 24.
Best viewing tips
The best places to see a meteor shower are in dark countryside or coastal locations, with little light pollution. Star-gazers should look at a 60-degree angle to the sky, wrap up warm, and bring a chair so they don't injure their neck by holding their head back for long periods.
It can take up to 40 minutes for human eyes to adjust to low light, so patience is required — as is vigilance not to check a phone.
Why shooting stars occur
Shooting stars occur when pieces of a comet break up as it nears the sun and heats up. The debris ends up in the path of Earth's orbit. The pieces of the comet are moving through space at the same time Earth is, and when they hit the Earth's atmosphere, smaller pieces are vapourised — leaving bright trails of light we call shooting stars — and larger meteors explode in fireballs, according to the Royal Greenwich Museum.
Those pieces 'slam into our atmosphere at speeds of between 7–45 miles per second', the Museum says, and 'the average speed for a Perseid meteor is 36 miles per second', or a staggering 129,600mph.
