Our first night of living on Mallorca wasn't quite as relaxing as we'd hoped, but it was a revelation.
At around 3.30am, I heard The Boss up and about, stumbling around in the dark. He'd been woken by an acrid burning smell drifting through the house from the kitchen. As this room contained only a sink, small cupboard, ancient gas stove (dubbed 'The Dragon' for the obvious flame-throwing reason) and gas fridge/freezer, it didn't take long to trace the source of the smell.
We threw open every window and door and went outside to gulp down some fresh night air – which was when I noticed the most incredible sky: inky black and freckled with a million stars. The last time I'd seen anything like it in the UK it had been several degrees below freezing!
Living somewhere with little light pollution enables us to enjoy gorgeous night skies – and tonight's should be rather special.
One of Mother Nature's spectacular treats – the Perseids meteor shower (also known as "The Tears of St Lawrence") – happens every August, when the Earth passes close to the Swift-Tuttle comet's orbit. Its debris enters our atmosphere, at around 60 kilometres a second, appearing as streaks of light flashing across the skies - commonly known as shooting or falling stars.
The optimum time for Perseids-watching – assuming there are no clouds – is in the early hours of tomorrow morning (Tuesday 12) and if you want to catch the best of the action, you'll need to be skygazing in the middle of the night – anytime between midnight and pre-dawn.
The lights of any local night club/all-night petrol station/fast food joint are going to be a nuisance in your shooting star-spotting, so head for somewhere less light-polluted and look north-east.
Our baptism into Perseids-watching saw us get out of bed at 3am, grab a cup of coffee and a blanket (to keep out the dew) and flop onto the loungers on our terrace. (Note: mosquito spray would have been a good idea). Scanning the skies we saw shooting star after shooting star. Amazing.
You don't need binoculars to view the Perseids, but if you're clever with a camera it's worth trying to capture some of the spectacle if you can.
If tonight's out of the question for you, or – as last year in our part of Mallorca – the sky is shrouded in cloud, it should also be possible to spot the Perseids over the next few nights.
Have a heavenly night!
Copyright Jan Edwards 2008
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