It’s that time of the year again – the annual Perseid Meteor Shower (known locally as Id-Dmugh ta’ San Lawrenz), which will reach its peak in the first half of this week!
Raise your eyes skywards for a glimpse of the action in the early hours of tomorrow, Wednesday 12th August, and Thursday 13th August, and you might be rewarded with your very own light show.
As one of the most ‘active’ meteor showers, it’s no wonder that it’s also the most popular, with star gazers expected to spot up to 80 meteors an hour! This year, the light from the moon is expected to hide a number of the fainter meteors, with experts predicting that 40 to 50 meteors should be visible in darker areas.
Fancy a look at the Perseids? Head over to a dark area in the countryside, as far away as possible from light pollution. Give your eyes about half an hour to adjust to the darkness and then, you might just be able to spot them! They’ll be most visible between 1am and 4am.
The best places to view the Perseids on the Maltese Islands include Fawwara (limits of Siggiewi), Miġra Ferħa, Kunċizzjoni, Fomm ir-Riħ, Baħrija, Dingli Cliffs, the area of the Red Tower (limits of Mellieha) and Ta' Ċenċ and Dwejra in Gozo, due to lower levels of light pollution.