Perseid NIGHTS
There’s something of an annual stargazing ritual. In the same way that many of us go through the Christmas Radio Times, circling the films and TV specials we want to watch, at the start of every year amateur astronomers check the observing prospects for eclipses, comets and the planets during the months to follow. They also want to know how the major meteor showers will be affected by the Moon, especially the best shower of the year, the Perseids, which peaks in mid-August.
Guides to 2020 advised us that this would be a challenging year for Perseid watchers, when a last quarter Moon will be close to the shower radiant over the peak period. This means that fainter Perseids won’t be seen, and we’ll have to wait longer between meteors that are bright enough to see. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing however, as it means there’ll be plenty of time to enjoy observing other things.
Although the Moon will affect this year’s Perseid meteor shower, that doesn’t mean you should just forget about it and stay in
