Starwatch: Look out for the Perseids, the best meteor shower of the year
Active from mid-July until the end of August, the shower peaks on the night of 12 to 13 August, when it can be possible to see as many as 100 meteors an hour streaking across the sky in all directions from the radiant point. From more urban environments, expect an average of as many as one a minute.
Unfortunately, this year the moon will be a waning gibbous with more than 80% of its visible surface illuminated, and its glow will wash out the fainter meteors. The chart shows the view looking north-north-east from London on 12 August 2025 at 22:00 BST. The radiant is marked 'Perseids'.
Even though it is August, wrap up warm, settle in to a deck chair to prevent neck ache and then spend as much time under the night sky as possible so that your eyes become well adapted to the dark. This will help see the fainter meteors and the more time you are outside, the greater your chances of seeing an exploding meteor, called a fireball.
The shower is not as easily visible from the southern hemisphere where the radiant is lower in the sky.
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