The Perseids Meteor Shower Will Peak This Weekend — With Up to 100 Shooting Stars

Stephanie Vermillion
·2-min read

It's going to be a starry Sunday night.

<p>Bill Ingalls/ NASA via Getty Images</p> A meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

Bill Ingalls/ NASA via Getty Images

A meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

There’s a reason stargazers bookmark the August Perseids each year. It’s the northern hemisphere’s best meteor shower, seeing up to 50 to 100 shooting stars at peak — including many eye-popping bright meteors, known as fireballs, according to NASA.

And it's happening Sunday night.

Read on for how to see the Perseids at their most powerful, as well as where to watch and when to look.

When to See the Perseids Meteor Shower Peak

This year’s Perseid meteor shower peaks between Sunday and Monday, according to Space.com. During that time, the moon will set around 11:20 p.m. local time. That leaves the late nights, particularly after 1 a.m., into early mornings ripe for dark skies and streaking meteors.

While the shower hits its crescendo in mid-August, the entire spectacle actually started on July 17 and will happen until Aug. 24; you could see shooting stars and fireballs any night.

Where to Look for the Perseids

The Perseids soar near the constellation Perseus, located high in the northwestern sky after midnight, according to LiveScience. Other interstellar objects within view that night include Mars, Jupiter, and the Pleiades star cluster.

The shower creates shooting stars and fireballs, which can leave colorful and vibrant streaks as they shoot through the sky. Fireballs are brighter and glide for longer, than the typical meteor. The Perseids, generated from debris from the large Swift-Tuttle comet, is arguably the best shower to see these powerful streaks of light, according to NASA.

How to See the Strongest Perseids Display

The concentration of shooting stars and fireballs largely depends on your Perseids viewing perch. You need a clear sky with minimal clouds and few overhead obstructions. A hilltop or open field with unobstructed views toward the northwest sky is ideal.

The less light pollution, the greater the odds of seeing that strong 50 to 100 meteors per hour rate. Gaze from a spot with pristine and inky skies, such as a DarkSky International-certified park or, better yet: a stargazing hotel to catch the Perseids peak from bed.

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