Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight

The best meteor shower of the year occurs tonight! Grab a seat outside after sunset to watch the show!

The peak of the shower is the night of Aug. 11 into Aug. 12 (Tuesday night into Wednesday morning). It will produce up to 100 meteors per hour on the peak night.

The 2020 version of the Perseid meteor shower will be slightly obscured by a bright moon. The moonlight will make it hard to see the faint meteors. However, the Perseids are known for very bright meteors! 

Check out some of my shots from last year's show.

Even though the Perseids will be most active after midnight, I encourage people to start looking once it gets dark in the evening. You will be more likely to see a long-lived, bright meteor fly across a large portion of the sky during the evening. Plus, the moon rises after midnight, and it will wash out some meteors. 

VIEWING TIPS

To get the most out of your Perseid meteor viewing experience, follow these steps: 

1) Dedicate a solid hour to doing nothing but looking for meteors. If you look for only a few minutes, you might not see any. 

2) Make yourself comfortable. Lay back on a lounge chair or a blanket on the grass. Don’t sit in a normal chair and look up; your neck will quickly get tired. 

3) Avoid looking at ANY source of light. No phones! Turn off all exterior lights. Try not to look directly at the moon either (for those watching after midnight).

Viewing Conditions

Keep checking back here for the current satellite imagery.

Europe

Asia

For Asian viewers, the best nights will be Tuesday night and Wednesday night. The absolute peak of the shower will occur Wednesday evening local time in Japan.

Send us your pictures or stories of your experiences with the 2020 Perseids meteor shower! Thanks for reading. Just look up; you never know what you will see!

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