{"id":59987,"date":"2025-08-05T11:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/59987\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T11:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T11:00:15","slug":"how-to-watch-one-of-the-most-dazzling-meteor-showers-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/59987\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Watch One of the Most Dazzling Meteor Showers of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skywatchers are in for a treat: The Perseid meteor shower\u2014one of the brightest and most active of the year\u2014is about to hit its peak, according to the American Meteor Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Perseids are an annual meteor shower that started in July, but astronomers expect the light show to be at its best between the evening hours of August 12 through to August 13. Famous for its typically high volume of swift, bright meteors, these burning space rocks leave long streaks of colorful light across the night sky in their wake, according to NASA<\/a>. The Perseids\u2019 ability to produce fireballs is due to large chunks of material falling from the comet Swift-Tuttle as it makes its way around the Sun\u2014every year Earth passes through the trail of debris and dust the comet leaves behind, and the interaction between that debris and our atmosphere is what causes the Perseids.<\/p>\n

Under ideal conditions, the Perseid shower can produce 50 to 100 shooting stars per hour, the agency says. This year may be a little different, however, as a near-full Moon during those peak hours could make it especially difficult to see the Perseids in their full glory.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bIn 2025, the waning gibbous moon will severely compromise this shower at the time of maximum activity,\u201d the AMS states<\/a>. \u201cSuch conditions will reduce activity by at least 75 percent as only the brighter meteors will be visible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The August full Moon\u2014also known as the Sturgeon Moon\u2014rises on Saturday, August 9. That means that while it won\u2019t be completely full when the Perseids peak, it will still be bright enough to blot out some of the falling meteors. But there are things you can do to improve your chances of seeing some.<\/p>\n

The number one rule of skywatching is to create the darkest conditions possible. You can\u2019t change the brightness of a near-full Moon, but you can take advantage of the shadows it casts, according to EarthSky<\/a>. Instead of standing out in the open, choose a spot in the shadow of a tree or building\u2014just make sure it doesn\u2019t obstruct your view. This will block out the moonlight and make it easier to spot shooting stars. It\u2019s also important to select a viewing location far from sources of light pollution. The more rural your spot, the more meteors you\u2019ll see. Looking at a smartphone, laptop, or tablet can affect your vision, too, so put them away and enjoy the view.<\/p>\n

Even under a bright Moon, the best time of night to see shooting stars is between midnight and pre-dawn. This is when the sky is darkest and the Perseid shower is most active. During these hours, Earth is positioned so that you are on its leading side, according to The Planetary Society<\/a>. This allows you to watch meteors as they come straight at the planet.<\/p>\n

The Perseid shower is especially visible in the northern hemisphere because its radiant\u2014the point in the sky from which its meteors appear to originate\u2014is somewhat north on the sky\u2019s dome, The Planetary Society says. While the shooting stars are actually falling from the comet Swift-Tuttle, they look to our eyes like they come from the constellation Perseus, hence the name. You don\u2019t have to stare directly at the radiant to see them, however. In fact, the ideal place to look is 45 degrees away from this point.<\/p>\n

The shower will remain active through the end of August, but is most dazzling in mid-August.<\/p>\n

And if you don\u2019t manage to catch the Perseids, don\u2019t fret. Another meteor shower is just around the corner: The Geminids, which also occur annually, will take place under moonless conditions in December, according to NASA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Skywatchers are in for a treat: The Perseid meteor shower\u2014one of the brightest and most active of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[36250,7118,18897,79],"class_list":["post-59987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-amateur-astronomy","tag-meteor-showers","tag-perseids","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}