news sciences: Perseid meteor shower 2025: All you need to know

The peak of the Perseid meteor shower will fall on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. But a bright moon will be in the sky during the prime meteor-watching hours, from midnight to dawn. Is it possible to watch the Perseids in moonlight? Yes. Get some tips from 2 expert night sky-watchers, EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd and Bob King, aka AstroBob. The moon is bright! But we’ve got you covered. Watch in the player above, or on YouTube.

Perseids peak mornings August 11 and 12

Predicted peak: We recommend watching for Perseid meteors on the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. The moon will interfere; it’ll be big and bright, in a waning gibbous phase, on these mornings. But you’re stuck with the moon, which will be up from late night until dawn. Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into the wee hours before dawn. The shower is often best just before dawn. Here are some tips for watching meteors in moonlight. And if you are watching for meteors before dawn, be sure to look east for the dazzling conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. They’ll be closest August 12. See the chart below.
Radiant: The Perseid radiant rises in the middle of the night and is highest at dawn. See chart below.
Nearest moon phase: The full moon fell at 7:55 UTC on August 9.
Duration of shower: July 14 to September 1. This time period is when we’re passing through the meteor stream in space!
Expected meteors at peak, under ideal conditions: Under a dark sky with no moon, skywatchers frequently report 60 to 90 meteors per hour, or more. In 2025, due to moonlight, the American Meteor Society, suggests you might see about only 25% of the expected peak rate, or perhaps 10 to 20 meteors per hour. The August Perseid meteor shower is rich and steady, from early August through the peak. The meteors are colorful. And they frequently leave persistent trains. All of these factors make the Perseid shower perhaps the most beloved meteor shower for the Northern Hemisphere.

Report a fireball (very bright meteor) to the American Meteor Society: it’s fun and easy!

Sky chart with radial circle of arrows around Perseid radiant between outlines of Cassiopeia and Perseus. — The Perseids’ radiant point rises late in the evening around now, in the constellation Perseus. That’s why Perseids are best viewed from midnight to dawn. You’ll see the most meteors just before dawn, when the radiant is high in the sky.

Meteors falling in a light blue sky. — A Perseid meteor composite from John Ashley in Montana in 2016.

Venus and Jupiter pair up during the Perseid meteor shower

A dot, Jupiter, is next to a starred dot, Venus. They are both above a wavy line, the horizon. — During the peak mornings of the Perseid meteor shower, brilliant Venus and bright Jupiter make a dynamic duo as they pass close to each other in the morning sky. They’ll create a spectacular scene in the east before sunrise. At their closest, they’ll be less than 1 degree apart. So if you extend your pinky at arm’s length, you’ll be able to hide both the planets behind it. The planetary duo rises a few hours before sunrise. Chart via EarthSky.

Perseid meteor shower radiant point

Around the peak mornings, if you trace all the Perseid meteors backward, they seem to come from the constellation Perseus near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero.

Of course, there’s no real connection between the meteor shower radiant and the constellation Perseus. The stars in Perseus are many light-years distant, while these meteors burn up about 60 miles (100 km) above the Earth’s surface.

Sky chart with scattered stars and yellow radial lines near the constellation Perseus. — The radiant point for the Perseid meteor shower, seen in sky mode (from the the Earth’s surface, looking up). Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

The Perseids’ parent comet

From the late, great Don Machholz (1952-2022), who discovered 12 comets …

The parent comet responsible for the Perseid meteor shower is a rather large comet called 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The comet orbits the sun approximately every 133 years. Lewis Swift of Marathon, New York, visually discovered it on July 16, 1862, using an 11-centimeter (4.3-inch) refractor lens telescope. He did not report it immediately, believing that he was observing Comet Schmidt, which was found two weeks prior. Then, three days later, Horace Tuttle picked it up from Harvard Observatory. Scientists calculated that the comet would return in 120 years. That is, that we would see it again in 1982.

So, 1982 came and went. And the comet didn’t show up. Oops! It was back to the drawing board, and this time, the appearance of a comet observed in 1737 was considered a possible early appearance of the comet. Now, the orbital period was more like 130 years. Brian Marsden published new orbital elements and an ephemeris as to where to find it for its 1992 return.

In the 1980s, many of us visual comet hunters would, from time to time, cover the part of the sky where the incoming comet was supposed to appear. The 1991 outburst of Perseid meteors indicated that the comet was probably on its way back. Another meteor outburst in 1992 seemed to confirm that.

On September 26, 1992, Tsuruhiko Kiuchi, an amateur astronomer and comet hunter, picked up the comet in the evening sky just north of the bowl of the Big Dipper. Knowing where to look, I observed this comet 16 hours later and made a brightness estimate 5 times brighter than the original report. Others then confirmed this. Later, Gary Kronk suggested that the comets observed in 69 BCE and 188 CE were also appearances of this comet, a theory later confirmed.

Do Perseid meteors ever hit the ground?

Meteors that hit the ground intact are called meteorites. But few – if any – meteors in annual showers become meteorites. That’s primarily because of the flimsy nature of cometary debris. Comets are made of ices. Most meteorites, on the other hand, are the remains of rocky or metallic asteroids.

In ancient Greek star lore, Perseus is the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danaë. It was said that the Perseid shower commemorates the time when Zeus visited Danaë, the mother of Perseus, in a shower of gold.

So think of the ephemeral nature of meteors in meteor showers, as you stand outside watching for Perseids in 2025. Most meteors strike Earth’s atmosphere unseen. You can consider any Perseid meteor you do see in 2025 as there for your viewing pleasure!

By the way, 2023 was a fantastic year for the Perseids: Enjoy this gallery of Perseid meteor photos from around the world, 2023.