Brecon Beacons National Park

Once of the celestial highlights of the year is about to occur above our skies with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Friday night. Every August, cloud cover permitting, hundreds of shooting stars soar above the UK, creating a natural light show that’s worth staying up late to watch. If you want to get technical, the Perseids are actually small pieces of a comet which pass through the Earth’s atmosphere at the same time each year, as we pass through the debris left from the comet’s tail. Anyone can watch the meteors and if you’re lucky you could see up to 200 an hour. If you’re going to make it your mission to spot as many as possible this weekend, or if you fancy your chances at any other time of year – here are the best places in the UK to watch the skies.
Did you think that you had to travel to Australia to see the Milky Way? While you can’t look into the middle of the galaxy from the UK (because of our position in the Northern Hemisphere), you can still gaze at the outer limits from a Dark Sky Discovery Site such as the three situated in the North York Moors. Choose from Danby, Sutton Bank and Dalby Forest and time your visit to coincide with the Perseid meteor shower to enjoy not one but two incredible celestial sights.
North York Moors National Park
Beautiful Night Sky | © Vincentiu Solomon/ Unsplash
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