Solar eclipse and Perseids promise rare August sky show

A solar eclipse covering more than 80 percent of the Sun across Norway will be followed by the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on August 12, Dagbladet reports. Astrophysicist Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard describes the combination as a once in a lifetime experience.

The eclipse will become visible in northern Norway at around 6.30pm, with southern Norway able to see it about half an hour later. Ødegaard calls it the largest solar eclipse of the decade and the biggest since 2015.

At its peak, almost the entire solar disc will be covered by the Moon, making the Sun appear like a yellow banana rather than a circle. The eclipse is expected to produce a sharp, silvery light. Its shadow will move south at 3,700 kilometres per hour, and the eclipse will last just over one hour and 45 minutes at each location.

The display will continue a few hours later with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. The eclipse will coincide with a new moon, creating exceptionally good viewing conditions without disruptive moonlight.

The Perseids occur each year when Earth passes through a trail of dust left by a comet. The particles burn up in the atmosphere and appear as shooting stars.

Because the eclipse takes place late in the day, when the Sun is close to the horizon, the meteor shower may mix with the eclipse colours and the red and pink sunlight. The meteor shower will only be visible in southern Norway, where the night sky is dark enough. Cloud cover could still prevent people from seeing it.

For the eclipse, completely clear skies are not necessary, as the Sun should be visible through thin clouds. The meteors, however, are best viewed under skies with as few clouds as possible.

Ødegaard said weather conditions during an eclipse can sometimes be better than forecasts suggest because the disappearance of sunlight reduces the cloud formation caused by solar heating. During the large eclipse in 2015, conditions were significantly better than forecast in western, southern and eastern Norway.

According to Ødegaard, the next eclipse larger than this one will not occur until 2039 or 2048. He said the combination of the two events is exceptionally rare and will not happen again within several thousand years.

Observers should not look directly at the Sun, as the light can damage their eyes. Ødegaard also recommends finding a dark place away from artificial lighting and allowing the eyes time to adjust. The shooting stars often appear in bursts, so several minutes may pass without a meteor.