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2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 AUGUST 2026 NEWS JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt 'Construction not commence MALTA will get two reasons to look up this week: a partial solar eclipse today, followed by the peak of the Perseid meteor shower later tonight. On 12 August, as the sun dips towards the horizon, the Moon will slide partly across its face. A few hours later, once darkness settles in, the sky puts on a second show: the Perseids, one of the more anticipated meteor showers of the year, reach their peak. Colloquially the yearly phenomenon is known as Dmugħ ta' San Lawrenz (Tears of St Lawrence). It gets its name because the shower coincides with the feast of St Lawrence on 10 August. "There is a wonderful coincidence of events with a partial solar eclipse taking place on 12th August," Jackson Said, Associate Professor at the University of Malta's Institute of Space Sciences and Astrono- my said. Speaking to MaltaToday, Jackson Said explained although both the eclipse and the meteor shower are regular events, the coincidence of their occurring around the same time window is special. It is, in fact, the first time this century a total solar eclipse and a Perseid peak have fallen in the same window. An eclipse, briefly The eclipse itself will be a modest one from Malta's vantage point. It will be visible between 7:41pm and 7:55pm, with maximum coverage at 7:52pm, when around 12% of the sun's disc will be obscured by the Moon. Observers elsewhere in Europe will see a larger bite taken out of the sun than in Malta, with the path of totality sweeping across parts of the Arctic, Green- land, Iceland and Spain, where the sun will be com- pletely blocked out. Those wanting something closer to a spectacle will have to wait. The next eclipse of note visible from Malta falls on 2 August 2027, when sun disc cov- erage climbs to around 97%, edging close to a full blackout. No telescope or binoculars are needed. Said advised the best window for viewing, for anyone without equipment, runs from midnight until dawn, in a location dark enough for the eye to ad- just properly. Whether watching from Malta or Gozo, the key variable is how much artificial light surrounds the observer, not which specific cliff or field they choose. Then, after dark, the meteors Once the eclipse has passed and the sky properly darkens, attention shifts skyward for a different rea- son. The Perseids, active since mid-July, reach their peak this week, and 2026 offers a rare bonus: a new moon. Without moonlight, faint meteors become visible, improving this year's peak for observers. Under ideal dark skies, rates reach about 100 meteors per hour, but from Malta, you can expect 30 to 50 per hour. The shower's meteors are debris shed by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, burning up as they hit the at- mosphere at extraordinary speed. At their best, Per- seids are known for producing not just streaks but fireballs, meteors bright enough to rival the planet Jupiter in the sky, trailing colour for longer than an ordinary shooting star. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but tracing them backward points to the constellation Perseus, which is where the shower gets its name. The shower will not vanish the morning after its peak either. According to Said, meteor activity will remain visible for a further week, giving those cloud- ed out on the peak night a second chance. Eclipses and meteor showers occur on different schedules: one by the moon's orbit, the other by Earth's passage through comet dust. Their coin- cidence this week doesn't indicate a link but gives Malta two reasons to be outside after dark. Cloud cover, as ever, will have the final say on how much of either event Malta actually gets to see, so it is worth checking the forecast before heading out. From eclipse to shooting stars: Malta's sky offers a double spectacle tonight Partial solar eclipse and Perseid meteor shower peak offer Malta a prime sky watching opportunity tonight Jackson Said, Associate Professor at the University of Malta's Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy (inset) explained although both the eclipse and the meteor shower are regular events, the coincidence of their occurring around the same time window is special CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 On the other hand, "demo- lition or construction of the hotel and bungalows will not commence until the outcome of the ongoing appeal of the Planning Authority permit is finalised." While Hili has categorically ruled out demolition and con- struction before the planning appeal is decided, it has only said that the tree works must take place during the win- ter months. It has not given a starting date or said that these works will await the appeal. The distinction is significant because an environmental per- mit issued by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) last Friday provides the sep- arate environmental authori- sation required for the works covered by it. The planning permit itself remains valid and executable because, under the law pres- ently in force, filing an appeal does not automatically suspend works authorised by a develop- ment permit. Environmental permit versus planning case The Comino planning case was returned to the Environ- ment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) following a Court of Appeal ruling, but the planning permit remains exe- cutable while the appeal is be- ing reconsidered. ERA has defended its decision to issue the environmental per- mit while the planning case re- mains unresolved. Board member and NGO representative Martin Galea De Giovanni and NGO lawyer Claire Bonello had specifically requested the board to post- pone its decision until the ap- peal was concluded during last Friday's meeting. Their request was turned down. ERA insists its role is limited to regulating the environmen- tal impact of works already authorised by the Planning Au- thority and that its permit does not prejudice the ongoing legal proceedings. "The Environmental Permit relates solely to works that are already authorised by a valid and executable development permission and does not prej- udice any ongoing court pro- ceedings," an ERA spokesper- son told MaltaToday. The spokesperson added: "An environmental permit does not authorise or otherwise excava- tion and demolition work. That is the role of the planning Per- mit." "ERA's decision was confined strictly to regulating environ- mental considerations relating to works that are already ap- proved and does not allow any additional development not covered by the planning per- mit," the spokesperson said. ERA's position is that the PA is responsible for authorising the development itself, includ- ing excavation and demolition, while ERA regulates its envi- ronmental impact. But planning experts consult- ed by MaltaToday point out that the environmental permit is nevertheless required before the works covered by it can be- gin. The practical effect is that the environmental authorisa- tion required for the permit- ted works is now in place, even though the planning appeal re- mains unresolved. The issue is particularly sig- nificant because some of the