Perseid meteor shower to light up Southampton tonight

Southampton residents are being told to have their eyes to the skies from midnight tonight to catch a glimpse of the display.

The shower will likely peak from midnight to dawn on August 12 and could produce up to 100 meteors an hour.

The celestial display occurs as the Earth passes through a cloud of cometary dust.

READ MORE: Northern Lights light up the sky in Southampton and New Forest

Perseid meteor shower seen on Sunday night (Image: Suzanne Singleton)

Avid meteor spotter Megan Kenway-Head, from Southampton, said the best place to see the shower is where there is no light pollution.

The natural and earth sciences student said: “The Perseid meteor shower is the brightest of the year, consistent with up to 150 beautiful meteors at its peak.

“This averages under 30 seconds per meteor or small cluster of meteors. They are present in the Perseus gradient, positioned in the sky to the right of the North Star.

“The best time to see this incredibly dazzling show is between the hours of 12am and 4am before the sunrise, both tonight and tomorrow.“

Shawford Down in Winchester for example is perfect to view it from.”

It comes after a meteor shower and the Aurora Borealis dazzled photographers on Sunday night and into the early hours on Monday morning.

Hang Ross was in the New Forest to capture the spectacle.

Hang said: “We arrived shortly before sunset to setup, looking north for the shooting stars that were to peak from 2am.

“With the moon setting shortly after dark it allowed the stars to sparkle.

“We were fortunate to have captured the events on May 10th and although not as prolific, this bonus combination with meteors and aurora didn’t disappoint.

“It makes sitting [on the] cold windy hillside until the early hours worthwhile.”