According to David Moore from Astronomy Ireland, the meteors are called the Perseids because their tracks appear to point back to the constellation of Perseus.
People in Laois, Galway, Mayo, Tipperary, Clare, Meath, Cork and countless other countries say they all saw the Perseids in full flow. To get you in the mood for tonight's spectacle, here are some of the best snaps from last night.
Moon, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter from last night. Little Perseid caught too second pic. @AstronomyIRL @StormHour pic.twitter.com/MWn1Yks2px
— James/Jim.Mcgrath. (@Jimbomcg987) August 11, 2020
Amazing shot of the night sky of the Perseid meteor shower down here in Glengarriff, all from a Mi8 mobile phone.#PerseidMeteorShower #Meteorshower #Ireland #WestCork pic.twitter.com/roTMf95stW
Advertisement— Theo Goyvaerts (@Theobane) August 12, 2020
A meteor flashes past Andromeda galaxy last night at the @omdarksky on our hunt with @martinastro2005 & @geoff_maskell pic.twitter.com/3dAJ4UXM62
— Alistair Hamill (@ahamillphotos) August 12, 2020
Advertisement
Two meteors from a time lapse sequence from the @omdarksky last night, Perseid meteor hunting with @martinastro2005 & @geoff_maskell. Wonderful clear skies & great fun out with some fellow astro geeks!
Annotated version in next tweet pic.twitter.com/NrkNxP5177— Alistair Hamill (@ahamillphotos) August 12, 2020
Last night was not the only time people captured the Perseids, as all this week people have spotted some of the meteors in the Irish sky
Fantastic night chasing the Perseid Meteor Shower in the dark skies at Fanad Head, Donegal. Managed to bag a few keepers - here is just one with the Milky Way towering behind the lighthouse! #Perseid #Meteorshower #MilkyWay #ireland #Donegal pic.twitter.com/74hL9HGSDe
— Tony Dalton Photography (@atdalton1) August 9, 2020
@breegekelly I think this is Saturn and some of its moons from Friday Night.. maybe @AstronomyIRL could confirm.. pic.twitter.com/WvMbUL2i5e
— Finnagram Fotos (@finnagram) August 9, 2020
While last night was probably the best chance to see the Perseids, depending on how clear the sky is tonight, you might be able to seem some meteors from midnight.
Astronomy Ireland is asking everyone in the country to help count the shooting stars this year by filling out a form on its website. You can also email your meteor report to magazine@astronomy.ie
