Moonless skies favour UAE Perseid spectacle

UAE stargazers are preparing for one of the year’s strongest meteor displays as the Perseid shower peaks overnight on August 12 and 13, with moonless skies expected to improve visibility across desert and mountain locations.

The annual shower could produce dozens of visible meteors an hour under clear, dark conditions. Observers are likely to get the best views after midnight and before dawn on August 13, when the constellation Perseus rises higher and the shower’s radiant becomes better positioned above the north-eastern horizon.

A new moon on August 12 will remove one of the main obstacles to meteor watching. Moonlight can overwhelm fainter streaks, but this year’s alignment should leave the sky unusually dark, provided clouds, airborne dust and humidity remain limited.

The Dubai Astronomy Group has scheduled an observing session from 11pm on August 12 until 3am the following morning. The venue has yet to be announced, with advance registration required because of limited capacity.

Astronomers classify the Perseids among the most reliable meteor showers of the year. The display is active from around July 17 to August 24, but activity strengthens as Earth moves through a dense section of debris left behind by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

Tiny fragments from the comet enter Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 59 kilometres per second. Friction with the atmosphere heats the particles and surrounding air, producing brief streaks of light commonly described as shooting stars. Most fragments are no larger than grains of sand and burn up before reaching the ground.

Under ideal rural skies, the shower’s theoretical rate can approach 100 meteors an hour. Actual numbers seen by individual observers are usually lower because the quoted rate assumes a completely dark sky, an unobstructed horizon and the radiant directly overhead.

UAE viewers in well-chosen locations may see between 30 and 60 meteors an hour during stronger periods, although visibility will depend heavily on weather, light pollution and the observer’s ability to adapt to darkness. Bright fireballs may remain visible even from the outskirts of urban areas.

City centres in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are expected to offer poorer viewing because artificial lighting washes out faint meteors. Travelling beyond densely illuminated districts can substantially increase the number of streaks visible to the unaided eye.

Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve is among the most accessible options for Dubai residents, although visitors should select areas away from roads, camps and illuminated facilities. Mleiha’s desert landscape in Sharjah also offers broad horizons and established links with astronomy activities.

Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah provides higher elevation, cooler overnight temperatures and less interference from major urban centres. Mountain weather can change quickly, however, while haze near the horizon may still obscure the shower’s lower radiant during the earlier part of the night.

Sweihan and Liwa offer darker conditions for observers travelling from Abu Dhabi. Liwa’s remote dunes provide some of the country’s least light-polluted skies, but the distance, terrain and limited services make preparation essential. Al Quaa, south of Abu Dhabi, has also become a prominent destination for astrophotographers seeking views of the Milky Way.

Meteor watching does not require a telescope or binoculars. Optical equipment narrows the field of view and makes it harder to catch unpredictable streaks appearing across different parts of the sky. Observers are advised to use reclining chairs or ground mats and watch as much open sky as possible.

Eyes generally need at least 20 to 30 minutes to adjust fully to darkness. Mobile telephone screens, vehicle headlights and white torches can disrupt night vision. Red-filtered lights are less damaging and can be used for moving safely around an observing site.

Although the meteors appear to radiate from Perseus, viewers should not stare directly at the constellation. Longer trails are often visible farther from the radiant, making a position facing north-east or overhead more productive as the night progresses.