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The famously unpredictable Bootids meteor shower is coming in June. Here's how to see it
Another meteor shower is on the horizon, starting later this month and lasting until the beginning of July.
What's known as the Bootid meteor shower will soon occur. It happens every year at the same time.
These meteors originate from from a comet called 7P/Pons-Winnecke, according to the Star Walk website.
The Bootids are known for "unpredictable outbursts," according to National Geographic. So while they are generally a weaker shower, sometimes you get an outburst of shooting stars that makes the waiting worth it.
"It showed unusual activity in 1998 (50-100 meteors per hour) and 2004 (20-50 meteors per hour). Another outburst was expected in 2010, but the shower produced less than ten meteors per hour," Star Walk said.
Helping the show this year, the moon will be a waxing crescent, minimizing light interference at the peak.
Here's what to know.
The shower will be active from June 22 - July 2.
The peak of this meteor shower will occur overnight from June 26-27, according to Star Walk.
To find it, look for the constellation Bootes, also known as "The Herdsman" or "The Plowman," that the show is named after. It should be visible high in the western sky.
In a past interview with USA Today Network, Tim Brothers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology technical instructor and observatory manager, told Wicked Local that seeing meteor showers is possible with the naked eye, but with any case of stargazing, it's much better if you're using a good telescope or a pair of binoculars.
Meteors are essentially pieces of space rock, which are chunks of big comets, according to
Meteor showers are "basically debris from the tails of comets," Richard Binzel, an MIT planetary sciences professor, told Wicked Local in a past interview.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bootids meteor shower 2025: How to watch 'unpredictable' June show
