The annual Perseid meteor display is one of the most famous and commonly observed meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere. However, if you want to enjoy the show this year, it’s best to get in early.
Perseid will be active from Thursday, July 17th to Saturday, August 23rd, and will peak on August 12th and 13th this year. However, the presence of the nearest moon disappoints this year’s event.
A typical advice regarding peaking major meteor showers is to head to areas with low levels of light contamination, such as dark sky locations or dark areas on bright contamination maps. However, on Saturday, August 9th, at Full Sturgeon Moon in August, the light bleachs the night sky just as the Perseid peaks progress. On peak nights, the decaying Gibbsmoon rises several hours before midnight, lit by 84%, and shines brightly all night. It travels to effectively pollute the night sky with light and escape the light pollution of the city meaninglessly.
Due to the month’s plan to steal the show, the best way to watch this year’s Perseid will be around the peak night. Shooting stars will be much lower, but there will be windows in the darker sky when the moonlight is less from July 18th to 28th. That’s early on until July 28th, the month of the semi-lit last quarter rose in the middle of the night, and a new new month on July 24th, until July 28th.
After peaks, the declining Gibbsmoon will begin to get in the way when it reaches its final quarter stage on August 16th. The percentage of shooters will fade by then, but the clear night of the week should at least tell you some views of the heavenly light show.
Related: How to take photos of meteor showers
The Perseid Meteor Shower is known for its high-speed, bright meteors, travelling to 37 miles (60 km/s). They are the products of small particles left in the solar system by the Earth’s atmosphere of Comet 109p/Swift-Tuttle. As they do, they are hot and evaporated, releasing energy that appears as stripes of light in the night sky.
Things aren’t perfect in 2025, but if you go to Stargaze when the moon drops, you’ll probably notice one or two of the most famous shooting stars of the year, even if that’s happening.
Source link
