Perseid Meteor Shower

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Shooting stars!

A sight to behold at any time under the dark starry skies of Grassholme.

To explain, as the terminology can be confusing. A shooting star is the popular name given to a meteor, and a meteor is normally a tiny remnant of a comet, which passed though our solar system a long time ago, leaving a trail of debris in its wake. This debris is normally made up of fast moving, tiny (salt grain sized) pieces of comet, which hits our atmosphere at speeds approaching, in some cases, 58km per second. When these particles of comet hit our atmosphere, they heat up their surroundings and evaporate in a flash of light, and the flash that we see is what we call a shooting star!

The Persied meteor shower is regarded as the best of the year, with potentially as many as 110 meteors each hour, visible from good dark skies, on moonless nights. This year, we will have a half moon to contend with, which will brighten up the sky somewhat, and decrease the number of visible meteors. However, the bright meteors will still be visible, as will be the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter too!

As well as the shooting stars, you will be able to use our high tech instruments, computers and cameras, to make your night unforgettable – including talks in the classroom and tours of the facility. To the backdrop of birds on the lake…it’s magical!

Book now for a socially distanced night of astronomy, shooting stars and space facts. We have limited spaces, to guarantee a special and intimate night – so book early!