The Perseid meteor shower is famous for its bright meteors that often leave long, glowing trails.
While in past years the shower has delivered around 40 to 50 visible meteors per hour, this year’s display is expected to be less impressive, according to Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office. The reduced visibility is due to the timing of the shower, which comes just after August’s full moon, its brightness likely obscuring many of the meteors from view.
“The average person under dark skies could see somewhere between 40 and 50 Perseids per hour. Instead, you’re probably going to see 10 to 20 per hour or fewer, and that’s because we have a bright Moon in the sky washing out the fainter meteors,” Cooke said. He added, "You’re not going to see Perseids around suppertime. You’re going to have to go out later. Look anywhere but at the Moon.”
According to Space.com, Meteor expert Robert Lunsford from the American Meteor Society mentioned, “The best rates will probably be near 15 per hour, as dim meteors make up a majority of the activity.” Meteors can also be visible as early as 10 pm local time as per NASA. "You can watch for long Perseid earth grazers as soon as it gets dark until the moon begins to interfere. This will be about an hour for most folks," Lunsford added.
When can I watch Perseid meteor shower?
According to Finn Burridge, a science communicator at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the Perseid meteor shower in 2025 peaks during the nights of August 11–12 and August 12–13. Viewing of the Perseids takes place until August 23.
Where can I watch Perseid meteor shower?
You can watch livestreaming of Perseid meteor shower on YouTube.
How to watch Perseid meteor shower?
For the best chance to see a meteor shower, head outside during the early predawn hours, when the sky is darkest and the moon is low or not visible.
Avoid bright light sources, as they can hinder your view. A dark, cloudless night during a new moon or when the moon is at its smallest offers the clearest conditions. And remember to keep your eyes on the sky, not your phone. Your vision adjusts better to the dark when you're not distracted by bright screens, making it easier to spot shooting stars.
What does the Perseid meteor shower mean?
Meteor showers occur when Earth moves through bands of dust and debris left in space by comets or asteroids.
The Perseid meteor shower comes from Comet Swift–Tuttle, which takes about 133 years to complete a full orbit around the Sun. As Earth crosses the path of debris left by this comet, tiny particles enter our atmosphere at speeds of roughly 37 miles (59 kilometers) per second. When they hit the atmosphere, they burn up, creating the bright flashes we see as meteors.
The Perseids have been visible for close to 2,000 years, with some of the earliest records dating back to ancient China. The shower is named after the constellation Perseus, since the meteors seem to originate from that point in the sky. The Perseid meteor shower occurs when Earth moves through the trail of debris left by comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle.
