This friendly and enthusiastic society meets once a month for discussions and presentations about astronomy and all things space related.

An important element of our meetings is looking ahead to astronomical events in the coming month. Although we remain in the period of very short nights, and no true full darkness, there are still plenty of sights to see.

The main attraction in August is the Perseid meteor shower. This is a good opportunity for night sky enthusiasts to enjoy a show without the need for binoculars or a telescope. Indeed using either binoculars or a telescope will narrow the field of view compared to your naked eye and may cause you to miss some of the meteors.

Meteor showers occur when the orbit of the Earth takes us through dust and debris in space, left behind by comets as they travel on their own journeys. In this case the debris has been left by comet 109P/Swift- Tuttle.

The Perseid shower will be visible from the 1st of August through to the 23rd. Peak activity is expected around the 12th August - lets hope its a Glorious 12th with the the best viewing times are likely to be the nights of 11/12th and 12/13th August

The meteor shower will appear to originate from the constellation of Perseus in the north eastern part of the sky. Look for the familiar "W" shape of Cassiopeia and Perseus will be just below.

This apparent point of origin is known as the radiant of the shower. However meteors can appear in any part of the sky so for the best chance of a good night's viewing try to find a site where you can see as much of the night sky as you can, with as little light pollution as possible. The best time will be after midnight until about 5.30 am.

One problem with seeing the meteors could be the moon which will be a waning crescent on the 12th/13th. If necessary it is a good idea to simply block out the moon from your field of vision. Although this will not create ideal conditions it should improve the visibility of the meteors.

Later in the month we shall able to see the star cluster called the Pleiades. Again this will be in the northeastern sky, best viewed in the early hours. Also known as "The Seven Sisters", this cluster can be seen in the constellation of Taurus and can be visible to the naked eye.

Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all remain visible in the night sky throughout the month whilst Venus has returned to being and early morning object.

Beckington Astronomical Society is due to start the new season of meetings in September. We are staying abreast of developments and government COVID 19 guidelines and will be announcing our programme for 2020/21 once it is safe to hold meetings again. Details will be posted on our Website and local Facebook pages and in future articles in Frome Nub News.