夏の夜空に流れ星、ペルセウス座流星群が見ごろ

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is August fourteenth. It's shooting star season — one of the year's most famous meteor showers is lighting up Japan's summer night sky, and this year the conditions are perfect. Let's listen.

Now let's break it down, sentence by sentence.

Right now, in the summer night sky, you can see many shooting stars. This is the Perseid meteor shower.

It means shooting star — a small light that moves quickly across the night sky.

The best time to watch is from the night of the twelfth to the morning of the thirteenth, and from the night of the thirteenth to the morning of the fourteenth.

It means the best time to see something.

This year, the thirteenth is a new moon. Because there is no moonlight, the stars look very clear.

It means new moon — the time of the month when you cannot see the moon, so the night sky is at its darkest.

In places where the sky is dark, you might see about thirty-five shooting stars in one hour.

It means dark.

The National Astronomical Observatory says: look slowly at a wide area of the sky. It takes about fifteen minutes for your eyes to get used to the darkness.

It means to get used to something.

In bright places in town, you can only see a few shooting stars. Please enjoy the summer night sky from a safe, dark place.

It means to enjoy.

Let's listen to the whole story one more time.

Time for a short quiz. Listen and try to answer.

From the night of the twelfth to the morning of the thirteenth, and from the night of the thirteenth to the morning of the fourteenth.

Because the thirteenth is a new moon — there is no moonlight, so the sky is very dark.

About thirty-five shooting stars in one hour.

That's all for today. If the sky is clear tonight, find a safe, dark place, look up, and wait a little — you might catch a falling star. Don't forget to make a wish. See you tomorrow!