UCL in the News: This year's meteor shower

That's what will happen on the second weekend of August, when the Perseid meteor shower hits earth. At the height of the action, a shooting star will light up the night sky every few seconds. …

To view the Perseids, you don't need any special equipment or expertise, but you do need to get as far as possible from the light pollution that blights much of modern Britain. …

Dr Francisco Diego [UCL Physics & Astronomy] suggests heading south for longer nights and increased chances of cloudless skies. "Almost anywhere in the Mediterranean should be ideal, as long as you are away from artificial light," he says. "Morocco and Tunisia would also be wonderful."

Diego will be in the Canaries to accompany a group of 20 astro-tourists, who will spend three nights on the island of La Palma, viewing the meteors from the rim of an extinct volcano, the site of one of the world's most important observatories. …

Diego suggested La Palma for the six-night trip because of the island's reliable climate and almost complete lack of light pollution.

"We'll be staying at sea level, but viewing from the observatory at Roque de los Muchachos, which is on the rim of the crater at 2,400 metres. It's an incredibly dramatic location, literally above the clouds. The altitude is a key factor because most of the dust and smoke that normally obscures our view of the night sky is in the lower atmosphere. We'll be above that." …

The view will improve as the night progresses and the earth turns, pointing us in the direction of the oncoming meteors. "It's like driving your car into a rain shower," explains Diego. "You get more raindrops on the front windscreen than on the back window." Because of this, the best time to see the shower will be between midnight and dawn. …

Mark Hodson, 'The Sunday Times'