The annual Perseid meteor shower is turning out to be particularly dazzling this year, as the waning crescent moon means the night sky is dark. The annual shooting star display peaks between 11 and 14 August, with most meteors visible between midnight and dawn. The shower produces between 50 and 100 meteors per hour.
A falling star crosses the night sky behind illuminated wind turbines near Gemuend, western Germany, on 13 August 2015Oliver Berg/AFPMeteors streak across the sky over a Roman theatre in the ruins of Acinipio, during the Perseid meteor shower near Ronda, southern Spain, on 13 August 2015Jon Nazca/ReutersA meteor is seen in the night sky over Ramona, California, on 13 August 2015Mike Blake/ReutersA meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower in Rogla, Slovenia, on 13 August 2015Srdjan Zivulovic/ReutersA meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower at Bradgate Park in Newtown Linford, England, on 13 August 2015Darren Staples/ReutersA meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower near Wendover, southern England, on 13 August 2015Eddie Keogh/ReutersSomeone watches a meteor in the sky near Villadiego in the province of Burgos, northern Spain, on 12 August 2015Cesar Manso/AFPA meteor streaks across the night sky over the remains of St Ilia Roman basilica, dating back to the 5th century AD, near the town of Pirdop in Bulgaria, early on 12 August 2015Nikolai Doychinov/AFPA meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower near Kraljevine on Smetovi mountain in Bosnia, early on 12 August 2015Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Photographing meteor showers can be tricky. You'll need a camera with a long exposure setting, a tripod, somewhere far away from light pollution – and quite a bit of luck. Set your camera to a lens speed of f/2.8 or less and an exposure length of 15 to 30 seconds, and aim it towards the constellation of Perseus in the north east. Then just keep clicking (or, if your camera allows it, set it to automatically take a picture every minute or so). More detailed instructions can be found here.
IBTimesUK reader Joe Mooney from Bury St Edmunds said he bought a new camera this year and was trying it out on some night photography, specifically to see if he could catch a meteor. He managed to capture one – streaking towards the TV aerialJoe MooneyFredrik Nilsson from Romele in Sweden said our article inspired him to go out to see if he could photograph any meteors. He clearly could!Fredrik Nilsson
If you do manage to photograph any meteors, we'd love to see them. Email them to photo@ibtimes.co.uk. To give you a bit of inspiration, here are some of pictures captured by professional photographers over the last few years.
A meteor streaks over the sky during the Perseid meteor shower at the Maculje archaeological site near Novi Travnik in Bosnia on 12 August 2014Dado Ruvic/ReutersA Perseid meteor and the lights of a plane are seen over the Lovell Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, England, on 13 August 2013Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesA meteor streaks past stars in the night sky above Lake Geneva in Switzerland on 11 August 2012Denis Balibouse/ReutersA meteor streaks over the village of Kuklici, known for its hundreds of rock formations, in Macedonia, on 13 August 2012Ognen Teofilovski/ReutersRon Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, tweeted this photo on 14 August 2011, saying: "What a 'Shooting Star' looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower". The image was photographed from the orbiting complex on 13 August when it was over an area of China approximately 400 kilometres to the northwest of BeijingRon Garan/Nasa/ReutersA meteor streaks across the night sky over Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, England, on 12 August 2010Kieran Doherty/ReutersA Perseid meteor is seen in the sky at Techatticup Mine in Eldorado Canyon, Nevada, on 13 August 2010Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesA meteor seems to be heading to Earth over the Mont-Tendre near Montricher in the Jura in Switzerland, on 12 August 2009Denis Balibouse/ReutersPeople watch a meteor over the Los Padres National Forest in Frazier Park, California, on 12 August 2009Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
