Meteor shower to light up Finnish skies
Star-gazers in cloudless parts of the country will have their eyes firmly fixed on the night sky just four or so hours after 11p.m. to gain a glimpse of the Perseids meteor shower.
This annual celestial event can produce up to sixty meteor sightings within the course of an hour. The effect is caused when the earth's orbit moves through a belt of debris from the extinct Swift-Tuttle comet.
This year, a waning moon will help both amateur and professional observers alike. The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the peak in activity being between August 9 and 14.
Meteorologists say observers on the south coast and in Finnish Lapland will have the best chance of viewing the meteor shower in the absence of cloud cover. Eastern areas, too, may also prove favourable.
To view the Perseids, it is best to wrap up warm and to take a chair to an area away from town and city lights. Once comfortably seated, eyes should be focused in the area around the constellation of Perseus located below the familiar ‘W’ shape of Cassiopeia in the northern sky.
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