Perseid meteor shower viewing continues through Aug 23

The Perseid meteor shower remains visible after its peak and continues through August 23.

Perseid meteor shower shines as peak passes with viewing through Aug 23

The Perseid meteor shower peaked late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, but the display continues through August 23. At the peak, observers could see up to 100 meteors per hour, well above the typical rate. For the best odds, find a dark area away from city lights and face northeast before sunrise. A Global Meteor Network tracker can help plan when to look.

The meteors come from comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years. The shower is named after the Perseus constellation, the point in the sky where the meteors appear to radiate. Meteoroids are debris from comets and asteroids that burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating bright trails the eye can follow on clear nights.

This year’s Perseids remind us that big natural events still captivate people with simple tools. The fact that the show lasts several days makes it accessible to families and casual stargazers. Even a brief window in the dark can yield a memorable display, if the sky is clear.

However light pollution and changing lifestyle patterns threaten the tradition of night-sky viewing. The article’s emphasis on tracking tools and reminders to go outside points to a broader trend: astronomy becoming a community activity rather than a niche hobby. The Perseids are a gentle invitation to pause and connect with the cosmos, a small but meaningful reminder of our place in the universe.

Highlights

The Perseids offer a gentle invitation to look up and wonder.