Keep Wednesday 12th August free: Dorset is in line for two of the year’s great astronomical events, just hours apart.
First comes the most impressive solar eclipse visible from Britain since 1999. From Dorset, the moon will begin moving across the sun at around 6.18pm. At its maximum – at approximately 7.14pm – more than 90 per cent of the sun will be hidden, leaving only a brilliant crescent visible. The eclipse ends at around 8.08pm.
The sky will not fall completely dark, but the light should noticeably fade and the temperature may drop. As the sun will be low, find somewhere with an uninterrupted view towards the western horizon.
Please never look directly at the sun. Ordinary sunglasses are not safe: use certified eclipse glasses marked ISO 12312-2, a properly filtered solar telescope or a simple pinhole projector.
Then, after darkness falls, look up again.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight into Thursday 13th August. The eclipse means it is also a new Moon, so there will be no moonlight to wash out the fainter meteors – potentially excellent conditions if Dorset’s weather cooperates.
The Perseids are fragments left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle, striking our atmosphere at around 59 kilometres per second. Under perfectly dark, clear skies, as many as 100 meteors an hour may be visible, including bright fireballs and lingering trails.
No equipment is needed: find a dark, open place, allow your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and watch as much sky as possible after midnight.
The early outlook offers some grounds for optimism, with dry interludes probable in southern England, although it is still too soon to promise clear skies.
A near-total eclipse at sunset, followed by shooting stars after midnight – all we need now is the weather.
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