Every year in mid-August, our Earth passes through the debris of ice and dust left behind by the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle in space, creating the Perseid meteor shower.
It is considered one of the best annual meteor showers, along with the Quadrantids in January and the Geminids in December.
Perseid meteor shower in 2025
Activity period: The Perseid meteor shower will be active from July 17 to August 23 in 2025. This is the period when our Earth will encounter the Perseid meteoroid stream in space.
Peak activity: The Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of August 12-13 in 2025.
When to see: The Perseid meteor shower will be best visible from midnight to dawn on August 12-13, 2025, as its radiant (the point from where the shower radiates in the sky) rises in the late evening and reaches its highest point in the sky at dawn.
You won’t see the Perseid meteor shower in the early evening, as the shower’s radiant will be located near the northeastern horizon.
Moon phase during peak activity: The moon will be in the waning gibbous phase and 84% illuminated during peak activity. As the waning gibbous moon rises in the evening and is visible all night, the moonlight will interfere with the Perseids in 2025.
Expected meteors during peak activity: The Perseids are one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, producing around 100 meteors per hour during peak activity under ideal conditions.
However, in 2025, the moonlight will wash out the faint meteors and you will only see the bright Perseid meteors. According to the American Meteor Society, meteor activity will decrease by at least 75%. So you can expect around 20 meteors per hour.
Duration of peak activity: The Perseid meteor shower has a very well-defined, rounded maximum that can last up to about three nights centered around the peak night, and after that they fall off quite rapidly. Therefore, we recommend watching the Perseid meteor shower on the nights of August 11-12, August 12-13, and August 13-14 in 2025.
Where to look: The Perseid meteor shower radiates from near the bottom of Cassiopeia. Look high in the northeastern sky in the pre-dawn hours to identify Cassiopeia.
Cassiopeia is one of the most famous star patterns in the night sky. The five bright stars of Cassiopeia form a gigantic “W” shape that is easily noticeable in the night sky.
Visibility of the shower: The Perseid meteor shower will be favorable to observers in the Northern Hemisphere, especially those located in the high-northern latitudes (from 40°N to 60°N).
Observers located in the high-northern latitudes will see an excellent display of the shower, where the radiant reaches almost overhead in the sky (more than 60° altitude) in the pre-dawn hours.
The Perseid meteor shower will not be visible from the southern hemisphere, where the radiant never rises much above the horizon.
Meteor velocity: Perseid meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere at about 59.1 km/s (212,760 km/h), which is very close to the maximum attainable velocity of 72 km/s, so they appear very swift.
Chances of meteor trains and fireballs: Almost half of the Perseids leave persistent trains (glowing trains left behind by bright meteors, lasting several seconds) when they streak through Earth’s atmosphere. The shower is also known for its fireballs (meteors with bright flashes).
Note: The combination of high rates, warm nights and good weather, bright and swift meteors, and public awareness makes the Perseids the most popular shower in the Northern Hemisphere.
How the Perseid meteor shower got its name
Meteor showers are usually named after a constellation in which the radiant lies during peak activity or after a bright star closest to the radiant.
The Perseid meteor shower got its name from the constellation Perseus, as the shower’s radiant is located in the constellation Perseus during peak activity.
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