The Perseid meteor shower peaks the night of Aug. 12 into the early hours of Aug. 13, with up to 100 meteors per hour visible, especially in dark-sky areas across the U.S.
One of the best shooting star displays of the year is coming to a sky near you. The annual Perseid meteor shower is visible across most of the U.S. from mid-July to late August. This year, the meteor shower is expected to peak on the night of Aug. 12 and before dawn on Aug. 13.
According to Space.com, to catch the shower’s peak, you should start observing the night skies around 11 p.m. local time on Aug. 12 when the rates of shooting stars increase. The peak display will continue until dawn on Aug. 13. During this viewing window, you can expect to see an average of up to 100 meteors per hour.
The Perseids meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through debris (bits of ice and rock) left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, a comet that is also the largest known object to repeatedly pass by Earth. The comet debris moves at around 133,200 mph in space and is typically the size of a grain of sand. The fragments become visible when they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking through the sky. Although the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it rarely hits the ground.
The Perseid meteor shower is most easily seen from the Northern Hemisphere, but is also visible in the mid-southern latitudes. Although it can technically be viewed from anywhere in the U.S., the meteor shower is much easier to see in dark-sky destinations where there is less light pollution. It is also helpful to find somewhere where the sky is wide and open since buildings and mountains can obscure the view.
No telescopes or binoculars are needed to see the Persied meteor shower, but Space.com recommends giving your eyes 30 minutes to adjust to the dark. It also helps to know where the meteors will come from.
According to NASA, the meteor shower radiates from the Perseus constellation, which follows the easier-to-find Cassiopeia constellation across the night sky. If you can find Perseus, you’ll know where the meteors will streak across the sky during the celestial event’s peak.
The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually in August, however in 2028, the shower is expected to evolve into a storm that will be even more spectacular than the standard, annual event.