Overview
- Parts of the UK will see a partial solar eclipse on the evening before the Perseid peak with local maximums occurring in the early evening.
- The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak overnight into Thursday, August 13, with the best chance to see the most meteors after midnight and before dawn.
- City-by-city eclipse timings show events typically begin around 6pm, peak near 7pm and end by about 8pm with maximum Sun coverage roughly 88–94 percent depending on location.
- Observers are advised to watch from dark, open sites away from streetlights, use only the naked eye, allow 20–30 minutes for eyes to adapt and avoid bright screens because cloud and light pollution are the main limits on visibility.
- The Perseids come from debris left by Comet Swift‑Tuttle and remain active from mid‑July through late August, with ideal dark‑sky rates of dozens of meteors per hour and occasional peaks near 100 per hour which has prompted public watch events and increased interest among amateur astronomers.