Perseid Meteor Shower Starts Now

The Perseid Meteor Shower Starts Now

The Perseids are one of the brightest and most prolific meteor showers of the year.

Getty Ethan Miller
 
By Jay Bennett

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the brightest and most active meteor showers of the year, began Monday, July 17. That means the Earth has moved into a trail of debris left in the wake of the comet Swift-Tuttle. For more than a month you will be able to catch sight of meteors in the night sky as chunks of rock and ice in that debris trail enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up.

The peak of the meteor shower, however, when the most meteors should be visible, will be during the late nights and early mornings of August 11, 12 and 13.

During the peak, the Perseids can produce more than 60 visible meteors per hour. This year, however, there will be a bright waning gibbous moon rising into the sky a few hours after nightfall on the peak nights of the Perseids. The moon's light will block out some of the dimmer meteors, but the Perseids are known for being particularly bright, so you should still be able to spot some streaking across the night sky.

By August 21, it will be a new moon, so the night skies will be particularly dark and it might be another good time to get outside and catch the end of the meteor shower. By this time, Earth will be moving out of the trail of debris that breaks off behind the comet Swift-Tuttle, so meteors will not be as common as during the peak nights. However, the sky will be much darker, and even though meteors will not be as frequent, you could catch some particularly spectacular ones in the dark hours before dawn on August 21 or 22. The shower officially ends on August 24.

If you want to catch the celestial show, make sure you get as far away from towns and other light pollution as possible, and be patient. Your eyes take a full 20 to 30 minutes to adjust, but after they do you will be able to see much more in the night sky. There can also be extended lulls between meteors, but if you stay patient and vigilant you will be rewarded. The meteors will come from the direction of the constellation Perseus, for which the annual shower is named, but they should be visible all across the night sky.

So from now until August 24, if you find yourself up and about late at night or early in the morning, don't forget to look up!