The Perseid meteor shower, one of the biggest events in the stargazing calendar, is expected to be visible over Germany between August 9 and 13.
With no fewer than 100 shooting stars per hour, the Perseid meteor shower will be visible over Germany and the northern hemisphere between August 9 and 13, peaking on the night of August 12.
On this night, just half of the moon’s visible surface will be illuminated and after it sets at midnight, the sky will be a dark canvas highlighting meteors. The best time to view the meteor shower will be between 11pm and 4am.
The meteors will be travelling at around 60 kilometres per second. A meteor is a piece of comet or asteroid which enters the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and burns up. The Perseid meteors come from the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet.
Since most meteors vaporise it is only very rarely that they reach Earth. That said, one German family in Schleswig-Holstein was unlucky enough in April 2023 to have a small meteor strike through the roof of their house.
The Perseids are best seen from a location that has a good view in the direction of the northeast.
However, since the meteors fly very high, they will be visible far across the night skies this summer, even in the direction of the southwest.
According to ARD Alpha, eager stargazers should find a place far from the lights of the city, take a blanket and lie on the ground with their feet facing northeast to get the best view of nature’s annual firework display.
Thumb image credit: StGrafix / Shutterstock.com