Made up of debris from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, the rain of shooting stars of the Perseids is the most famous of the year because one of the most active. This swarm meteorite in the constellation of Perseus runs from 17 July to 26 August this year 2020, with a peak of activity in the night of 12 to August 13. It is the most dramatic of all, with 100 shooting stars observable at the time !

It'll have to be awake early in the night before the rising of the Moon, until 1: 30, to watch the shooting stars the night of Wednesday 12 August Thursday 13 August. In fact, the light of the Moon interferes with the observations and makes invisible the shooting stars. However, if you watch the shooting stars after the rising of the Moon, move if possible back to the Moon. The brightness should not interfere with the observation of meteors more visible, especially if you manage to be away from the city centres or points of light. When you see a meteor, multiply the vows, a tradition well known !

below you will Find all the advice necessary for a good preparation and a good observation of the stars. Lovers of photography will learn all the tricks needed to capture these ballets, fairy-like celestial.

No danger or need for a specific equipment ! The Perseids are visible to the naked eye by everyone. So there is no need to break out the binoculars or the telescope, given the high speed at which parade the fireballs in the earth's atmosphere (an average of 50 km/hour). About a quarter of the shooting stars leave trails visible for several seconds. To be able to observe this rain of falling stars in an optimum manner, it is not necessary that the sky be obscured by clouds.

If the Perseids are visible to the naked eye, however, it is not obvious, once outside, to know where to direct his gaze. In a first time, be sure to be placed back to the Moon, far from any pollution source of light. A good council ? The site LightPollution Map can help people to identify the darkest areas and therefore, points of view, optimal to observation. Finally, to find the famous summer Triangle, Florent Deleflie, an astronomer at the Observatory of Paris, advises to look at "full and low on the horizon". A sky map will be useful to you, or a mobile application that calculates in real time the position of the stars visible from Earth. If you are already initiated into astronomy, look for the constellation Perseus and Cassiopeia located above it in the sky. The radiant, that is to say, the place where seems from the rain of shooting stars of the Perseids, will be in the middle of the two constellations.

How to photograph the stars ?

The tradition of stellar, which takes place each year at the same period, will continue, but beware of confusion : there is obviously no"star" per se, but of the dust of asteroids that pass close to our planet, and some of which come into "collision" with the Earth. The shooting stars have nothing to do with the stars. It is a comet off, or an asteroid that, when moving, leaves behind a large number of debris.

luminous Phenomena, shooting stars (or meteors) appear, and each time that tiny meteorites come in contact with the dense layers of the atmosphere, at speeds ranging from 15 to 70 km per second. Due to the friction of the air, these dust - sometimes pebbles, more or less large - become incandescent before they volatilize. Thrilled with their passage, the air becomes luminous, giving the impression of persistent trains seeming to come from the same place in the sky : the constellation of the Lyre for the Lyrides, that of Orion for the Orionides, of Perseus for the Perseids, the Lion, the Leonids or Gemini for Géminides...