This Stunning Meteor Shower Will Illuminate the Sky With Up to 100 Shooting Stars Per Hour
Due to the full moon occurring just days before the peak, moonlight may hinder visibility of fainter meteors, making July 18 to 28 a better viewing window despite fewer meteors.
Best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere, the Perseids are visible to the naked eye from dark locations during the pre-dawn hours, with meteors appearing to originate from the Perseus constellation.The Fourth of July fireworks displays may be long gone, but nature is planning its own sparkling spectacular soon—the annual Perseid meteor shower. It's active right now and will last through late August, according to EarthSky.org.
When viewing a meteor shower, you are seeing pieces of comet debris that heat up and burn as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in bright bursts of light streaking across the sky. According to NASA, the Perseids occur when Earth passes through the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The Perseid meteor shower is predicted to peak on August 12, when Earth travels through the densest and dustiest part of the comet debris. Per NASA, stargazers can typically see an average of 50 to 100 meteors per hour during this time. These meteors travel at an average of 37 miles per second, making it one of the best meteor showers of the year.
Unfortunately, this year's peak takes place just three days after a full moon, so the moonlight may make it difficult to spot fainter meteors, with only the very brightest shooting stars visible. Because of this, you may want to observe the shower from July 18 to 28, when moonlight is at a minimum, suggests Live Science. The rate of shooting stars will be much lower, though.
The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, though it is possible to see them as early as 10 p.m. To see the light show, head out around 11 p.m. local time (or in the pre-dawn hours of August 11 and 12) to the darkest location you can find. You won't need a telescope or binoculars to see the celestial display, as it's visible to the naked eye.
According to NASA, the Perseids' radiant (where the shooting stars appear to originate from) is in the Perseus constellation in the northeastern sky. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which they appear to emanate. Though Perseus isn't the easiest to find, it follows the brighter, more prominent constellation Cassiopeia, which is known for its "W" or "M" shape that's formed by five stars.
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