Perseids
The Perseids are a popular summer meteor shower each August, made by dust from Comet Swift–Tuttle.
The Perseids are probably the best-known meteor shower, peaking around 12 to 13 August each year. Their meteors seem to come from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the north-east in the evening. Under dark skies, observers can see around 100 meteors per hour at the peak.
The Perseids are dust from Comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle, a comet about 26 kilometres across that orbits the Sun every 133 years and last passed close in 1992. Earth runs through its trail of debris every August. The particles meet our atmosphere at about 59 kilometres per second, producing fast, bright meteors, often with glowing trails.
Because they come in summer, the Perseids are easy to enjoy on warm nights. The best views are after midnight, when the radiant is high. Find a dark spot away from lights, lie back on a blanket and give your eyes time to adjust. People have watched the Perseids for about 2,000 years.
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Level: Beginner Ages 7 and up