Dozens of shooting stars per hour expected this weekend

Amateur astronomers will be able to admire dozens of shooting stars per hour in the night sky from Friday, August 9 and all weekend long, during the 34th edition of the Nuits des étoiles dedicated to the astrophysicist Hubert Reeves who passed away last year. Nearly 575 events are organized across France to admire the shooting stars of the Perseids, swarms of dust from an old comet that the Earth passes through each year during the first half of August.

This year, a “non-zero probability of seeing polar auroras, in line with the episodes observed at the beginning of May” at unusual latitudes following a historic solar storm, Olivier Las Vergnas, president of the French Astronomy Association (AFA), said at a press conference on Thursday.

The AFA expects nearly 200,000 people in local astronomy clubs equipped with observation equipment. But you can also settle for a deckchair in a garden to appreciate the night sky, provided you have a clear sky free of light pollution. With a small Moon (a very thin crescent), optimizing the perception of the constellations, “we have everything we need”rejoiced Olivier Las Vergnas.