Stargazers in the UAE may catch an early glimpse of the Perseids meteor shower on Thursday, when moonless, darker skies offer a better chance of spotting shooting stars.
While the annual showers typically dazzle in mid-August with up to 100 meteors an hour, this year’s peak will coincide with a full moon. On Thursday, however, the Moon will be not be visible, creating ideal conditions for observing celestial events such as the Perseids, active from mid-July until late August.
Khadijah Ahmed, operations manager at Dubai Astronomy Group, said the Perseids meteor shower takes place when Earth passes through the densest part of the debris trail left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
“On July 24, the shower is still building up, so you might only see 10 to 20 meteors per hour at best, depending on your location, sky conditions and darkness,” she told The National.
“Unfortunately, there is a full moon just before the Perseid peak in August, meaning bright moonlight will wash out many meteors during the peak nights, but that’s when you typically get 60 to 100 meteors per hour under moonless conditions.”
The Perseids are one of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, which produces bright streaks of light as the particles burn up in the atmosphere, with the most intense activity typically on August 12 and 13.
This year, however, conditions are not looking ideal because moonlight is likely to interfere with the shower’s visibility. The Dubai Astronomy Group will host a stargazing event on August 12 in Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah for the public, with tickets priced at Dh200 ($54) per adult.
“We’ll focus more on stargazing, observing all the visible objects in the sky with a sideshow of the meteor,” said Ms Ahmed. “As the meteor shower will continue till late August, we might host another event depending on the weather to observe the meteors on moonless nights.”
Mohamed Usama Ismail, lead of optical astronomy and tours at Al Sadeem Astronomy in Abu Dhabi, said viewing the Perseids, whether on July 24 or during the August peak, comes down to “timing and luck”. He said visibility can vary from year to year.
“Last year, it was a bit strange,” he said. “People came to observe the Perseids on August 12 and 13 but didn’t see much. I wasn’t sure why. Then, on August 14, a group visited and saw no fewer than 50 meteors, so it’s all about luck.”
There have been reports in recent years that the Perseids’ intensity is declining and that the shower may not produce as many meteors as it once did.
Astronomers believe the showers are weaker now because thicker parts of the comet’s debris, which caused intense displays of meteors in the 1990s, have slowly spread out over time, causing fewer visible meteors today.
Al Sadeem Astronomy is not hosting a specific event for public viewing of the meteor shower, but tours of its observatory are available regularly. After the showers, the next celestial event set to take place in the UAE will be a total lunar eclipse, appearing in the skies on September 7. The Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow, turning a deep reddish colour.
“This is one of the rare astronomical events happening in the UAE in 2025,” said Ms Ahmed. “We will host an event for the eclipse and encourage everyone to witness it. You don’t need any special equipment – just go outside and look up.”
The first supermoon of the year, the Hunter’s Supermoon, will appear on October 7, followed by the Beaver on November 5 and the Cold Supermoon on December 4.
There are more meteor showers after the Perseids, including the Orionids’ peak on October 21 and 22, followed by the Leonids, peaking on November 17 and 18. The best meteor shower and often the most visible, the Geminids, will peak on December 13 and 14.
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year’s festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
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More from Rashmee Roshan LallMs Yang’s top tips for parents new to the UAE
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Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1′)
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3′, Marcus Berg 50′)
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77′
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Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Read more from Aya IskandaraniMore coverage from the Future Forum
‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Dir: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Junior, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen
Four stars
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Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Some of Darwish’s last words
“They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope.” – Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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