Want to catch a shooting star? This week’s your chance, as the annual Perseid meteor shower is upon us once again!

What’s more, the St. John’s weather forecast looks very promising: clear and dark skies from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. For those of you going outside, your best bet is to find a dark location far away from the city lights and take in the show from midnight until dawn (or until moonrise, at about 4 AM).

Here’s a nice shooting star I caught during the 2013 Perseids, on a beautiful night hike on Biscan Cove Path:

Cape St. Francis is located at the northern end of Biscan Cove Path, and it’s one of the darkest locations on the entire East Coast Trail while still relatively close to St. John’s. I’ve enjoyed many fine night hikes there during my time in Newfoundland, it was a bit scary at first but when you do it often enough it becomes as enjoyable as any daytime hike. The key to a succesful night hike is to know the trail by heart so you don’t get lost, even in the black of night.

Looking at the picture above you may be curious about the green glow on the horizon: it almost looks like a gun went off and shot the meteoric bolt up into the sky! The truth is not nearly as fantastic though, it is simply a ship lighting up the distant fog.

The green glow in the sky looks a little bit like the Northern Lights, but actually it is a good example of ‘airglow‘, a pleasant phenomenon that can be seen on most clear nights.

I hope the forecast keeps its promise, and that everybody will be able to enjoy this year’s Perseid meteor shower, good luck!