In August in Vienna, there is a very special reason to look up: The stars are showing their best side right now! After the impressive supermoon attracted attention in July, the next highlight is now waiting in the night sky. The shooting stars of the Perseids in Vienna and the surrounding area will present you with a magical spectacle between August 11 and 13.
What are the Perseids?
The Perseids are an annually recurring meteor shower that lights up the sky between mid-July and the end of August. They are triggered by tiny dust particles from the comet Swift-Tuttle, which enter the Earth’s atmosphere at around 60km/s. Every year, the Earth passes through this “dust trail” in August. The meteor stream reaches its maximum around August 12, with up to 100 shooting stars per hour.
The Perseids owe their name to the constellation Perseus, from whose direction they appear to originate. The poetic nickname “Tears of St. Lawrence” refers to St. Lawrence’s Day on August 10, which almost coincides with the peak of the show.
How and where is the best place to see the Perseids in Vienna?
This year, the full moon could make observation a little more difficult. This is because it will make the sky much brighter than normal. But true to the motto “the later the night, the better”, the chances of seeing fascinating shooting stars are particularly good between 11 pm and 4 am if the sky remains clear.
It’s best to look for places with little light. In Vienna, this could be one of the many beautiful parks or the surrounding vineyards. The Vienna University Observatory or the star garden on the outskirts of the city (Liesing) are also ideal observation points today.
But if you miss the main night from August 12 to 13, you can rest assured. The Perseids will remain active until August 24. A particularly cool extra for astronomy fans: NASA will be broadcasting the phenomenon live on YouTube from the Marshall Space Flight Center from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m. German time. So you can count shooting stars from the comfort of your sofa.
Now the only question that remains is: have you thought of enough wishes to watch all the shooting stars in the night sky?