Perseid Meteor Shower Countdown

One of the year's best

At its peak the Perseids can produce 50–100 meteors an hour under dark skies, including bright fireballs. They appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, hence the name.

How to watch

No telescope needed, just get away from city lights, let your eyes adjust for about 20 minutes, and look up. The best viewing is usually after midnight.

The tears of Saint Lawrence

Long before anyone knew what a meteor was, Europeans noticed shooting stars every year around August 10 — the feast of Saint Lawrence, martyred in 258 AD — and called them the 'tears of Saint Lawrence.' The scientific explanation arrived in 1862, when comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered, and in 1866 Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli matched its orbit to the August meteors. It was the first time any meteor shower was ever traced to its parent comet.

2027: a bright moon to work around

The 2027 Perseids peak on the night of August 12–13 with the Moon about 80% lit — a waxing gibbous, and bright enough to wash out the fainter meteors for most of the night. The shower is still worth watching; you just have to time it. The gibbous Moon sets in the small hours, so the darkest and best stretch is the last hour or two before dawn, which is also when the radiant sits highest and rates are naturally at their peak. Keep the Moon behind you or out of view, give your eyes 20–30 minutes to adapt, and expect the brighter fireballs to punch through regardless.

Quick facts

• Peaks in mid-August each year
• Up to 50–100 meteors per hour at peak
• Debris from comet Swift-Tuttle
• Radiates from the constellation Perseus
• Perseid meteors hit the atmosphere at about 59 km (37 miles) per second
• Swift-Tuttle's 26 km nucleus is the largest object that repeatedly passes close to Earth