The Perseids meteor shower is set to peak in the UAE and around the world, lighting up the skies on August 12 and 13. The cosmic event will feature about 100 meteors an hour shooting across the night sky. According to the Dubai Astronomy Group (DAG), the 2023 Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. It is expected that the Perseids this year will produce up to 100 meteors per hour at a dark site. This year, it peaks right before a new Moon, meaning the skies will be particularly dark, which is ideal for viewing.

How and where to watch

To best see the Perseids, residents have been advised to go to the darkest possible location. According to the DAG, those wanting to see the spectacle won’t need any telescopes or binoculars. However, it is important to reach early and allow about 30 minutes for their eyes to adjust to the dark. Sky watchers have been advised to keep the heat and humidity in mind when preparing for the event.

The DAG will host a special event on August 12 at the Al Awir Desert in Dubai. The event will start at 10pm and is expected to run till at least 3am on August 12. Tickets are priced from Dh200 onwards and will include Jupiter, Saturn, and deep sky object telescope observations, astrophotography session and sky mapping among other activities.

Nasa said the Perseids are one of the best meteor showers of the year. They leave light and colour behind them as they streak across Earth’s atmosphere. “Perseids are also known for their fireballs,”,” the space agency said. “Fireballs are larger explosions of light and colour that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. “This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.”

There have been several celestial spectacles this year visible to UAE residents. In June, the June Bootod meteor produced a magnificent meteor shower. In March, five planets, including Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars lined up together in a small section of the sky. Earlier this year, UAE residents also got the rare chance to witness Comet 2022 E3 that passed close to the Earth for the first time in 50,000 years.