Digital Camera World: photograph Aug. 12 eclipse, Perseids

Digital Camera World published a guide on Aug. 5 telling photographers to plan for two sky events on the same date: the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse over parts of Europe and the Perseid meteor shower peak later that night. NASA separately said the Perseids will peak on the night of Aug. 12 into the early morning of Aug. 13, with a new Moon expected to keep skies dark. ### Where does the eclipse fall on Aug. 12? NASA said the Aug. 12 eclipse will be total across northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and part of Portugal, with a partial eclipse visible in other areas, including parts of the United States. Timeanddate said the event is the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe since 1999 and provides location-by-location timing maps for the path. (digitalcameraworld.com) The United Kingdom is among the places with a partial view. Timeanddate listed local partial-eclipse times in Britain beginning around 5:59 p.m. to 6:44 p.m. BST, depending on location, and ending shortly after 8 p.m. BST. ### Why are photographers treating the eclipse and Perseids as one plan? Digital Camera World’s guide said Aug. 12 offers an unusual same-day sequence: an eclipse in parts of Europe followed by the Perseid peak late that night into pre-dawn Aug. 13. (science.nasa.gov) NASA’s August skywatching guide and a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory roundup also flagged the same timing, saying the meteor shower peaks later that same night under dark skies because the new Moon arrives on Aug. 12. (timeanddate.com) ScienceDaily, citing NASA JPL, said the solar eclipse and Perseid meteor shower arrive on the same day as part of a wider set of August sky events. That alignment is what makes the date useful for photographers trying to schedule a single outing rather than separate trips. ### When is the best window for the Perseids? (digitalcameraworld.com) NASA said the Perseids have been active since early July and continue through the end of August, but the peak comes on the night of Aug. 12 into the early morning of Aug. 13. The agency said visibility should be “ideal” because the Moon will be new, reducing moonlight during the shower’s brightest period. (sciencedaily.com) NASA JPL’s August video briefing also said the Perseids will peak the evening of Aug. 12 into the early morning hours of Aug. 13. Digital Camera World’s advice to target late Aug. 12 into pre-dawn Aug. 13 matches that timing. ### What did the safety guidance say about eclipse photography? NASA JPL said regular sunglasses are not safe for viewing or photographing the Sun during the eclipse. (nasa.gov) The agency said binoculars, telescopes and cameras should not be used without a solar filter mounted on the front of the optics. Digital Camera World has also published separate eclipse-preparation and solar-filter guides in recent days, alongside its Aug. 5 planning article. (jpl.nasa.gov) Those pieces were listed in the site’s August archive and author pages. ### What comes next on the calendar? Aug. 12 is the date for the eclipse and the Perseid peak. NASA said it will livestream a Perseids watch party starting at midnight ET on Aug. 13, while Timeanddate’s eclipse pages provide local maps and timing tables for photographers planning where to shoot. (jpl.nasa.gov) (nasa.gov) (digitalcameraworld.com)