07/08/2026
A trio of cosmic wonders 🌞✨🌑
Mark your diaries, 12 August 2026.
You are invited to an unforgettable night of cosmic wonder.
On that date, three extraordinary celestial events come together. A solar eclipse, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, and a new moon darkens the stage for both.
A Solar Eclipse
For a few minutes, the Moon will pass fully in front of the sun. The UK will witness a dramatic partial eclipse as the Moon slides across the face of the Sun, reducing it to a brilliant crescent. As daylight fades, temperatures may dip slightly and the landscape will take on an eerie glow as the light changes. Make sure you do not look directly at the sun, unless you are wearing proper eclipse glasses.
The Perseids
Often considered the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, the Perseids are famous for their fast, bright meteors, many of which leave glowing trails as they streak across the sky. They peak the same night, running into the early hours of the 13th, and this year they’ll do so under a completely dark sky, with nothing to wash out the fainter ones. It will be one of the best years to watch them in decades. The next time the timing lines up this perfectly may not be until 2045.
A New Moon
With no moonlight in the sky, the stars, the meteors, even the faint wash of the Milky Way get to shine as brightly as they possibly can. It’s also what makes the eclipse possible: the Sun, Moon and Earth briefly in a perfect line.
