Stunning fireballs snapped over UK last night as Perseid meteor shower hits peak brightness
THE PERSEID meteor shower reached its peak last night, resulting in some stunning astronomy images.
The celestial event happens every August when Earth crosses paths with debris left behind from Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The meteors appear to radiate from the tip of the Perseus constellation, hence their name.
Although their peak has technically passed, you could still try to see some tonight if you look to the skies between around midnight and sunrise.
Typically, the shower displays around 60 meteors an hour but at the peak stargazers can see up to 100.
Meteor showers are best viewed in a dark area like the bottom of a garden to avoid light pollution.
A typical Perseid meteor is said to travel at 133,200 mph.
They burn up in our atmosphere and almost none of them hit the ground.
If they do they’ll then be called a meteorite.
It’s actually better to view them with the naked eye as you’ll have a better view of the full sky than if you used a telescope or binoculars.
Anna Ross, a Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer, told the PA: “During the peak night of the shower, you will be able to find it in the north-east of the sky, getting higher throughout the night.”
There are many phone apps that can help you locate constellations in the sky.
Once you’ve used your phone you’ll need to give your eyes some time to adjust to the dark again.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
Most read in Science
In other space news, stargazers can see Venus at its brightest this week.
The Moon has been used as a gigantic mirror by scientists on the hunt for other habitable planets.
And, a huge wave of toxic gas has been spotted surging across Venus in an event never seen before in the Solar System.
Did you watch last night’s meteor shower? Let us know in the comments…
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk