The Perseids put on a show: Spectacular meteor shower lights up the night sky with up to 40 shooting stars visible every hour (but many UK stargazers miss out because of heavy cloud)
- The stunning meteor shower reached its peak Thursday evening with up to 40 shooting stars visible per hour
- In the UK cloud cover prevented many from viewing the full spectacular show with some seeing 2 to 14 rocks
- The meteor shower occurs when Earth ploughs through debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle Comet
- We'd love to see your images of the Perseids so if you got a spectacular snap and would like us to show it off email it to: pictures@mailonline.co.ukOne of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year reached its peak on Thursday evening, with up to 40 shooting stars visible every hour in some areas.
Skywatchers across the UK had less of a show, with parts of the country covered in blanket cloud, and light pollution making fewer shooting stars visible in other areas.
The shower takes place when the Earth ploughs through debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle Comet during its trips through the inner solar system.
Posting to UK Astronomy groups on social media, British skywatchers reported seeing between two and 20 shooting stars per hour in various parts of the country.
Also known as the 'fiery tears of Saint Lawrence', it was visible both north and south of the equator, with sensational images of the space rocks being shared from Russia, Spain, Macedonia, US and the UK.
NASA has warned that we may not get another 'good' view of the Perseid meteor shower until 2024.
'With a full Moon (and lower meteor activity) during the Perseids’ peak in 2022 and a waning crescent high in the sky for 2023, this might [have been] your best chance to do some summer skywatching for a few years.'
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Twitter user Mary McIntyre captured this shooting star over Oxfordshire, UK on Thursday night while running two cameras to capture as much of the Perseids meteor shower as possible
A view of the Perseid meteor shower over the Church of St Paraskevi of Iconium in the village of Russkoye Khodyashevo in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan
A shooting star seen from the sanctuary of the Virgen de las Nieves more than 2,600 meters above sea level on August 12, 2021 in Sierra Nevada, Spain
Sam Binding captured this stunning image of a meteor flying over Stonehenge. He said there was a 'bucketload of mist arriving, which created the otherworldly starlight (Jupiterlight)' visible in the image
It means that rather than see the 40 per hour predicted, many will only be able to view a small handful of meteors.
The quality of the show from a meteor shower depends on a number of factors and can vary dramatically year-by-year, according to NASA, with light pollution having a major impact.
Bill Cooke from the US space agency said the Perseids have a theoretical maximum of 100 per hour, but in reality many people will see far fewer.
'In the 1980s, meteor researchers were searching for a way to compare the meteor shower rates observed by various individuals and groups across the globe,' he said.
The rate published each year, in this case 40 per hour, known as the Zenithal Hourly Rate, is based on what the perfect observer would see under perfect skies if it was straight ahead. That never happens, said Cooke.
Conditions in the area, such as light pollution levels, cloud cover and the position of the radiant of the shower, all play a part in the true number visible per hour.
As well as capturing a picture of a shooting star from the Perseids meteor shower, Twitter user Mary McIntyre also photographed an explosive star in the form of Kappa Cygnid, seen next to Jupiter in this image
Perseid meteor shower at Tres Mares peak, in Cantabria, northern Spain. One of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year reached its peak on Thursday evening, with up to 40 shooting stars visible every hour in some areasShare
A Perseid meteor streaks across the night sky over Izmir, Turkey on August 13, 2021. The shower takes place when the Earth ploughs through debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle Comet during its trips through the inner solar system
In the UK and US countryside, with clear skies and no cloud, you could expect to see about 40 per hour, or one every couple of minutes, but it is likely to be less.
Even in the best conditions, the quality of the shower can also depend on the phase of the moon and even your own eyesight.
In an area of higher light pollution it will drop to about 10 or less per hour, and in a city such as London it will drop to one or two at most.
A Perseid meteor streaks above a sandstone outcropping at Redstone in the Pinto Valley wilderness area on August 12, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
In this 30 second cameras exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia
This is why astronomers recommend those wanting to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower to find somewhere away from the lights of towns, cities, buildings and trees, and where there is a clear view of the horizon.
At this year's peak, the moon was in a thin crescent phase, creating perfect viewing conditions without interference from moonlight because it will only be at about 20 per cent illumination.
A Perseid meteor streaks across the night sky over Izmir, Turkey. Posting to UK Astronomy groups on social media, British skywatchers reported seeing between two and 20 shooting stars per hour in various parts of the country
Perseid meteorites streak over the stone dools near the village of Kuklica in the municipality of Kratovo, Northern Macedonia, an area of naturally formed stone pillars that resemble humans
The Perseids actually started in mid-July, reaching their full illumination on Thursday when the Earth passes through the bulk of the debris.
When comets travel close to the sun, they heat up and disintegrate. If this happens in Earth's path around the sun, they can head towards our atmosphere at high speeds.
The superheated air around the meteors glows and leaves behind trails of light and explosions in the form of fireballs.
The Swift-Tuttle Comet, which causes the Perseids, spans 16-miles wide and is formed of ice and rock.
It ploughs through our Solar System once every 133 years, with the last pass in 1992.
The comet will come within one million miles of Earth on August 5, 2126 and August 24, 2261.
The name 'Perseids meteor shower' comes from the fact meteors appear to shoot out from the Perseus constellation – the 24th largest constellation in the sky.
The event is best for viewing in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Dr Massey.
'The radiant for the Perseids – the point in the sky the meteors appear to come from – is in Perseus, and high in the Northern Hemisphere of the sky,' he said.
'It's 58 degrees north of the celestial equator, which means it would be overhead from 58 degrees north (the latitude of places like Ullapool in Scotland).
'This also means the radiant never rises for places south of 32 degrees south, so the southernmost parts of Australia, and much of Argentina and Chile.
Milky way during Perseid meteor shower at Tres Mares peak, in Cantabria, northern Spain. NASA has warned that due to a variety of reasons we may not get another 'good' view of the Perseids meteor shower until 2024
Perseid meteorites streak over the stone dools near the village of Kuklica in the municipality of Kratovo, Northern Macedonia. Light pollution and cloud cover are the two biggest issues skywatchers face when staying out overnight to watch for shooting stars
A shooting star and the Milky Way seen from the sanctuary of the Virgen de las Nieves more than 2,600 meters above sea level. The quality of the show from a meteor shower depends on a number of factors and can vary dramatically year-by-year, according to NASA, with light pollution having a major impact
'The upshot is that the Northern Hemisphere has the best potential view, as the radiant is higher in the sky and visible for longer, so in theory more meteors are visible.
'As you move further south the number declines, and south of 32 degrees south essentially none are seen.'
The sparkling show is set to continue over the Northern Hemisphere for a few days after the peak with reduced activity. .
The next major meteor shower will be the Draconids in October, although it tends to be a less active shower than the Perseids.
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