A man from Barrow managed to capture a Perseids meteor, along with a breath-taking colourful image of the night sky, from Barrow coast.

60-year-old retired senior project manager Joe Sides set out at the weekend to defy the weather conditions to catch a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower.

The annual shower is one of the highlights of the year for many stargazers due to its high hourly rate and bright meteors. The 2023 astronomical event was active between July 17 and August 24 with the shower reaching its peak at the weekend.

The spectacle is caused by the Earth slamming into the debris left behind by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle in July and August every year. It is called the Perseids because the meteors appear to originate from the constellation of Perseus. 

Joe said: "I am a local photography enthusiast with a developing interest in astrophotography. The Perseids meteor shower was forecast and I was hoping to capture this magnificent sight.

"Unfortunately, the two days it was most evident we were 'blessed' with heavy cloud cover. There was a small gap however so I set my camera on the tripod and fired off shots hoping the gap would be filled with meteor streaking overhead.

"I set up pointing at the star Deneb which hosts the Cygnus section of the Milkyway -this section is with us all year round. I used the camera settings F2.8, iso 1600 and at 30 second exposures.

"Of the 30 shots taken only one was any good due to the clouds. Even this one was spoilt by whispy clouds that tried to hide the single capture of the meteor.

"For shooting the stars I run the camera completely manually including manual focus as any movement in the sky would attract the auto-focus and blur out the far-off objects I wanted."

Joe said that the Coast Road can be a good location in Barrow to capture the night sky. He added: "We have the bay itself, which can be difficult in managing the Blackpool and Fleetwood light show, but it is manageable.

"This shot in particular wsa much easier as the moon wasn't putting on its own show and the camera was shooting upwards anyway, so light pollution from the Coast Road is not too bad."

For those who may have missed Saturday night's peak light show, there may be another chance as the shower is set to continue until August 24.