Calling all stargazers! It’s that time of year again. The Perseids Meteor Shower will peak across the sky on the night of Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Viewing conditions across the Susquehanna Valley are looking EXCELLENT for Monday night and Tuesday night. For Monday night, cloud cover will be limited across south central Pennsylvania before building in late towards sunrise in parts of the area. However, the vast majority of the night will be good for trying to catch the Perseids.Tuesday night will offer slightly more cloud cover than Monday night, but overall viewing conditions should still be good as high pressure is still in control of our weather pattern.Temperatures will be warm, near 70°, for both nights. You can catch the Perseids until August 23, but the number of meteors you will see drops considerably after the peak. Typically, we see up to 60 – 90 meteors per hour during the peak. However, the Waning Gibbous moon will hinder our viewing conditions this year. The bright light from the moon will make it difficult to see some of the smaller, less bright meteors. NASA predicts the moon will cut the number of meteors seen down to 25 – 50 meteors per hour, depending on conditions.Meteor Shower BackgroundThe Perseids Meteor shower peaks in mid-August each year and is generally the most popular meteor shower of the year since it occurs in the summer, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).The Perseids are known for leaving long streaks of light behind them as they move through the atmosphere and for creating gorgeous fireballs in the sky. “Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is because fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.” – NASA. A comet is responsible for this annual event. The comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is responsible for producing the space debris that creates the meteor shower. As the meteors interact with the atmosphere, a combination of friction and compression of air molecules causes the air in front of the meteor to reach extremely high temperatures. This creates a glowing plasma and bright streak of light, leading to what we commonly call a shooting star.NASA says it takes 133 years to orbit the Sun and last visited the inner solar system in 1992. It gets its name from the scientists who discovered the comet in 1862, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. The Perdeid’s radiant (the point in the sky from which they appear to come) is the constellation Perseus. This is why we call the meteor shower “The Perseids”. However, the meteors are not coming from the constellation directly. That is because of the Swift-Tuttle comet mentioned earlier. The constellation is used to direct viewers where to look in the night sky. Perseus will appear in the northern sky throughout the night.Stay with the WGAL News 8 Storm Team as we continue to track the Perseids Meteor Shower, and be sure to share pictures or videos with us here: https://www.wgal.com/upload or via email: weather@wgal.com!
Calling all stargazers! It’s that time of year again. The Perseids Meteor Shower will peak across the sky on the night of Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Monday, August 11, 2025, night forecast for the Susquehanna Valley.Â
Viewing conditions across the Susquehanna Valley are looking EXCELLENT for Monday night and Tuesday night.
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Monday, August 11, 2025Â low temperatures for south central Pennsylvania.
For Monday night, cloud cover will be limited across south central Pennsylvania before building in late towards sunrise in parts of the area. However, the vast majority of the night will be good for trying to catch the Perseids.
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Tuesday, August 12, night low temperatures for south central Pennsylvania.
Tuesday night will offer slightly more cloud cover than Monday night, but overall viewing conditions should still be good as high pressure is still in control of our weather pattern.
Temperatures will be warm, near 70°, for both nights. You can catch the Perseids until August 23, but the number of meteors you will see drops considerably after the peak.
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Visibility forecast for the Perseid Meteor Shower in south central Pennsylvania from Monday, August 11 night – Wednesday, August 13 night.Â
Typically, we see up to 60 – 90 meteors per hour during the peak. However, the Waning Gibbous moon will hinder our viewing conditions this year. The bright light from the moon will make it difficult to see some of the smaller, less bright meteors. NASA predicts the moon will cut the number of meteors seen down to 25 – 50 meteors per hour, depending on conditions.
Meteor Shower Background
The Perseids Meteor shower peaks in mid-August each year and is generally the most popular meteor shower of the year since it occurs in the summer, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Details about the Perseid Meteor Shower for August 2025.
The Perseids are known for leaving long streaks of light behind them as they move through the atmosphere and for creating gorgeous fireballs in the sky.
“Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is because fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.” – NASA.
A comet is responsible for this annual event. The comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle is responsible for producing the space debris that creates the meteor shower. As the meteors interact with the atmosphere, a combination of friction and compression of air molecules causes the air in front of the meteor to reach extremely high temperatures. This creates a glowing plasma and bright streak of light, leading to what we commonly call a shooting star.
Hearst OwnedWGAL News 8
Simulation of the Perseids Meteor Shower. Look for the constellation Perseus.Â
NASA says it takes 133 years to orbit the Sun and last visited the inner solar system in 1992. It gets its name from the scientists who discovered the comet in 1862, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle.
The Perdeid’s radiant (the point in the sky from which they appear to come) is the constellation Perseus. This is why we call the meteor shower “The Perseids”. However, the meteors are not coming from the constellation directly. That is because of the Swift-Tuttle comet mentioned earlier. The constellation is used to direct viewers where to look in the night sky. Perseus will appear in the northern sky throughout the night.
Stay with the WGAL News 8 Storm Team as we continue to track the Perseids Meteor Shower, and be sure to share pictures or videos with us here: https://www.wgal.com/upload or via email: weather@wgal.com!