Stargazing: Don’t miss any of the Perseids that will light up the sky on Friday evening!

Every summer, with their eyes fixed on the sky, all astronomy enthusiasts try to catch a glimpse of the Perseids’ swarm of falling stars. They appear in the sky between July 20 and August 25, but maximum visibility occurs on the night of Friday, August 12 to Saturday, August 13. But where does this wonderful, luminous ballerina come from?

comet dust

Perseids come from a trail of dust left by a comet 109/ Swift-tuttle. The latter is currently in orbit around the Sun. Its core is 26 kilometers long according to NASA. Its luminous effects appear when dust comes into contact and disintegrates in the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of more than 200,000 km / h.

This meteor shower is known to be in abundance. Between 50 and 100 meteors enter the atmosphere per hour at the height of the period.

How to monitor mares?

To admire this astronomical phenomenon, it is not necessary to be equipped with a telescope, your eyes will be more than enough.

The best tip to remember is to stay away from cities because light pollution is the strongest. You can view files naturefrance.fr . poster Reproduced below, the best stargazing regions of France.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Be warned, this year, it can be more complicated to observe the falling stars on the night of August 12-13 because the moon will be full, NASA remembers.

So get out into nature and look up at the sky, a surprise may be waiting for you! And if you’re not available tonight, don’t panic: These towering stars will still be visible until August 25.