The best annual meteor shower returns to our skies, and the Perseids dazzling display is set to peak on Wednesday night.
Skywatchers will be treated to not one, but two, impressive astronomical events within just a few hours of each other.
A deep partial solar eclipse will be also visible in in the early evening before the Sun sets and the stars emerge. While the two events are unrelated, their timing makes for an exceptional night of stargazing.
Viewers across swathes of Europe including France, Belgium, Switzerland and northern regions of Italy will also be able to see around almost 88-95% coverage, while spectators in parts of Greenland and Northern Portugal and Spain will see a total eclipse.
Sadly you’ll have to travel to appreciate one of the most breathtaking celestial events of 2026 - a total solar eclipse. On 12 August 2026, the moon will block the view of the sun from Earth, causing the sky to go dark.
If you happen to be in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal or northern Spain at the time, then you will need to protect your eyes with a special solar viewer while looking at the eclipse, except for the brief time when the sun is entirely covered by the moon.
Pay attention to all the precautions you must take an of course, don't forget the special solar eclipse glasses.
The Perseids, pronounced 'Per-see-ids', are caused by debris left behind specifically by the Swift-Tuttle comet.
This comet is considered large with its solid core measuring 16 miles (26km) across. As it takes 133 years to complete a single orbit around the Sun - much longer than our own - some of the pieces of rock we see burning up could have been left behind more than a century ago.
The comet, discovered independently by Lewis Swift on July 16, 1862, and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on July 19, 1862, has a charm that makes it very attractive to cosmonauts. It is responsible for the fact that every year we can observe one of the most incredible meteor showers, the Perseids
These meteors are visible all around the world and named because they appear to originate from the constellation Perseus.
Perseus is a large, prominent constellation in the northern sky. Named after the Greek mythological hero who defeated Medusa, it contains the famous eclipsing variable star Algol, the brilliant star Mirfak, and serves as the radiant point for the annual Perseid meteor shower.
The best time to watch is on the peak nights, which this year is in the early morning hours between midnight and dawn on 12 and 13 August.
At this time there will be many, many more meteors. If you are really lucky, you could see more than 100 'shooting stars' per hour.
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