Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” is coming to life: this week, stargazers in the Netherlands will be stoked to see a stack of shooting stars from the Perseid meteor shower.
The majority of the shooting stars will be visible from the night of August 12 to August 13, according to WeerOnline.
Clear weather is predicted for that evening, and the best time to view the stars is around 4:45 AM. At that point, you might see up to 20 shooting stars an hour!
And who do we have to thank? The comet Swift-Tuttle. It passes the Earth each year, and its dust particles are the visible “shooting stars”.
Fewer shooting stars than usual
WeerOnline says the number of shooting stars from the Perseids is generally low this year for a few reasons.
First, despite the chances of clear weather, the Netherlands always finds a way to bring clouds into the picture, making visibility lower.
It will also be a full moon when the meteor shower passes Earth, which means only the brightest meteors can be seen.
A yearly incident
If you want to see a shooting star, you can see them even earlier this week. On August 10, around 3:30 AM, up to 22 shooting stars an hour may already be visible.
But don’t worry if you miss the shooting stars this year — the Perseid meteor shower happens every year from mid-July to late August. Maybe 2023 will be your year!
Have you seen shooting stars before? Tell us about your experience in the comments!