Astronomy festival to capitalise on perfect summer stargazing conditions
The annual ‘nights of stars’ weekend comes before major solar eclipse and peak meteor shower
A summer of stargazing is on the cards across France this August as conditions align perfectly for an upcoming meteor shower.
The nation’s annual astronomy event held in August will see hundreds of free events between August 7-9.
Flanked by the peak of the Aquariids meteor shower at the end of July (July 28-30) and the solar eclipse on August 12, the event starts an excellent summer of stargazing.
The Perseids meteor shower will run from July 17 to August 24, but will peak overnight on August 12-13, coming immediately after the solar eclipse.
Some astronomers believe that night skies will be the clearest in at least a decade for the shower, providing ample opportunity for all to be mesmerised by the planets and the annual Perseids meteor shower.
The moon will not be visible so removing background light and creating the perfect black backdrop for the spectacular scenes.
Astronomers predict 50 to 75 shooting stars visible per hour at the peak of the Perseids shower, with some outlets reporting up to 100 will be visible if conditions are perfect.
The best time to view the meteor shower is between midnight and 04:00
Annual astronomy extravaganza
August is also the period when France’s major astronomy event is held.
The ‘Nuits des Etoiles’ (Night of the Stars) was first held in 1991. This year sees at least 500 events taking place throughout France across the weekend of the main event, headed by local astronomy clubs and local authorities.
Live stargazing events will be combined with talks and guided observations, with people of all ages welcome.
Most of the events are free but some more popular ones may require you to sign up for tickets in advance.
While the Perseids will not be at their peak, they should still be clearly visible in the sky and the focal point of many events.
The planet Venus will also be potentially visible with the naked eye immediately after sunset.
The weekend is organised by the Association Française d'Astronomie (French Astronomy Association), which provides an interactive map of planned events – you can find it here.
You can read our 2018 interview with French-Canadian astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, one of the founders of the event, here.
