Everything to Know and Best Places to See Perseid Meteor Shower

> See 2023 Best Places to See Perseid Meteor Shower

Perseid Meteor Shower (Photo – NASA on The Commons, flickr).

Here’s a comprehensive list of what you need to know about Perseid Meteor Shower.

By Rena Kurlander

The Perseid meteor shower happens each year as the Earth passes through a stream of ancient bits of dust and ice left in the wake of comet Swift-Tuttle. It will peak late evening of August 11 and early morning of August 12. According to the American Meteor Society, the meteor shower will also be visible on August 13 as well.

This year, the moon will have about 52% illumination which makes it a bit harder to view the meteor shower at night.

Best times to view

• 10:00 pm:
  The best of the show starts after 10 pm in the evening.
• 3:00 am:
  30 to 40 meteors per hour expected.

Facts

• Perseid meteoroids are fast.
• Large meteors may splatter, causing a fireball, and sometimes an explosion.
• The Perseids are usually best viewed in the predawn hours.
• Comet Swift-Tuttle was last seen in 1992.
• Swift-Tuttle is due back in 2126.

Seeing it live

The San Gabriel Mountains area is a good start. Here are some suggestions:

• Mount Wilson Observatory area.
• Top of Mt. Lowe.
• Top of Mt. Baldy.

• Griffith Park area.

• Stunt Road or Piuma Cyn.
• Agua Dulce/Vasquez Rocks area off the 14 near Santa Clarita.
• Mt. Pinos.
• Jumbo Rocks at Joshua Tree.

Try to go with people you live with, be careful and safe in the wilderness, and practice social distancing.

Live webcast

You can always opt for a live digital view:

1. You can watch on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh and NASA.
2. You can also watch at Slooh‘s website for a fee.

Final notes

• The Perseids are one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers.
• The Perseids received their name because they appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus.
• A Perseid outburst is predicted this year with double normal rates.