每年一度的英仙座流星雨即将在接下来的几周内回归，为夜空增添一抹亮色。这是年度最壮观的天文事件之一，其特点是明亮的火流星，这是由彗星碎片在进入地球大气层时燃烧形成的。英仙座流星雨的活跃期为7月17日至8月23日，而最佳观测时间则集中在8月12日至13日，届时每小时预计可见50至100颗流星。观测时，建议选择黎明前光污染较少、视野开阔的地点，并给眼睛留出适应黑暗的时间。尽管8月9日的满月可能会对观测造成一定影响，但一个晴朗无云的夜晚仍将带来绝佳的观星体验。

🌟 英仙座流星雨是年度最值得期待的天文现象之一，它源于地球穿过109P/Swift-Tuttle彗星留下的碎片带。当这些微小颗粒以极高速度进入地球大气层时，它们会燃烧并产生我们所见的流星，其中尤以“火流星”最为显著，它们是来自更大块彗星物质的明亮爆发。

🗓️ 本年度的英仙座流星雨活动期为7月17日至8月23日。虽然在整个活动期间都有可能观测到流星，但最佳观测时机是流星雨的峰值期间，即8月12日至13日。在这两天，预计每小时可以观测到50至100颗流星，带来连续不断的视觉盛宴。

🔭 要想获得最佳观测效果，建议选择在黎明前进行观测，此时天空最为黑暗。同时，远离城市灯光污染的开阔地点将大大提高观测成功率。请务必给您的眼睛足够的时间来适应黑暗的环境，以便更好地捕捉到划过夜空的点点星光。

🌕 需要注意的是，在流星雨的峰值日期（8月12日至13日），月相将是“盈转亏”，虽然月光会逐渐减弱，但仍有88%和79%的亮度，这可能会对观测流星的清晰度产生一定影响。因此，一个晴朗无云的夜晚将是观测英仙座流星雨的关键。

The night sky will be getting a little more exciting over the coming weeks as the Perseid meteor shower makes its return. One of the most spectacular astronomical events of the year, this meteor shower has been catching our attention yearly and is considered one of the best.

Want to know a bit more before you watch the shooting stars? We've found all the information you need for the upcoming celestial event.

What is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseid meteor shower is so much more than pretty lights zooming across our skies. According to NASA, the shower occurs when Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by the 16-mile-long comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun roughly every 133 years.

When these tiny fragments enter our atmosphere at high speeds, they then burn up, creating the bright streaks of light we call meteors. The Perseids are particularly distinguishable thanks to their fireballs. As the name suggests, these are more extreme bursts of light that last longer than the average meteor. This is because "fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material," NASA says.

When is the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseid meteor shower will be active from July 17 until August 23.

When will the Perseid meteor shower peak?

There is a chance to catch glimpses of the meteor shower every day in its active period (cloud cover dependent), but NASA figures say the peak dates will be August 12-13. On these days, you can expect to see at least 50 to 100 per hour.

How to see the Perseid meteor shower

NASA tells us that the best time to go meteor shower hunting is before dawn. As always, choose a dark location away from light pollution to raise your chances of seeing it, and don't forget to give your eyes time to adjust.

On the peak nights, the moon phase will be Waning Gibbous, when it starts to lose light on its right side. It'll still be fairly lit (88% and 79%), following the full moon on August 9, so this may affect visibility.

Here's hoping for a cloudless night, and lots of shooting stars