For those who enjoy looking up at the night sky on a regular basis, this month promises to be very exciting thanks to a meteor shower and two eclipses.
August 12th will be one of the biggest days of the year for amateur, backyard astronomers because the day will start off with a partial solar eclipse and end with stunning meteor shower.
First, the partial solar eclipse will be best viewed in Canada’s arctic regions and parts of northern Ontario, however residents in Regina and southern Saskatchewan can see a sliver of that partial solar eclipse providing conditions are fovourable. The eclipse will start at 10:19am on August 12th and end around 11:21am over Regina. As will any solar eclipse, eye protection will be required to view it safely.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak in the late hours of August 12th and early morning hours of August 13th. According to experts, this year’s meteor shower should be very strong thanks to a new moon creating a darker sky, making meteors more visible. At it’s peak, 75 to 100 meteors may be streaking across the evening sky. Experts also say the shower has already started with more meteors streaking across the sky each night leading up to August 12th.
August will also see a partial lunar eclipse. This is when Earth’s orbit aligns between the sun the moon, causing the moon to be fully or partially blocked out. During the process, the moon will look very red. A partial lunar eclipse is expected over southern Saskatchewan on August 27th starting at approximately 8:33pm and lasting until about 10:51pm. Lunar eclipses are safe to view without eye protection.
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