The annual Perseids Meteor shower is visible in Michigan this summer, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus, because it is the point in the sky from which the shower comes.
The showers are expected to last until August 23, 2025, with the peak occurring the night of August 12. This means Earth is closest to the core of the orbit at that time, according to Robert Lunsford. Lunsford is the fireball report coordinator for AMS.
The Perseids are known for their fireballs, which are explosions that last longer than an average meteor streak. They are brighter than regular meteors and come from comet particles.
According to a report from NASA, these meteor showers originate from the dusty trails of comets whose debris collide with the atmosphere and disintegrate as the Earth passes through them. NASA said the Perseids originate from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the Sun. It was last closest to the sun in 1992.
Each summer, the AMS intercepts debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. According to Lunsford, this process begins around July 20.
Perseids frequently leave long trails of light and color behind them. Their meteor showers are plentiful, with about 50 to 100 meteors visible per hour. NASA said they can be as fast as 37 miles (59 km) per second. The meteors, commonly called shooting stars, can be seen about 60 miles above Earth’s surface when they burn up.
The meteors are very bright and swift, lasting less than a second, Lunsford said. Other showers can produce slower meteors. According to Lunsford, Perseids can produce meteors of all brightness levels and have more fireballs than other showers simply because they produce more meteors than average.
Where and how to stargaze:
The meteor showers are best seen away from city lights, in the countryside or in other rural areas. Michigan has several dark sky parks where stargazers can see the showers more clearly without experiencing light pollution.
Unfortunately, this year the moon may obscure the view of part of the showers because it will be 82% full during the time of the peak, said Lunsford. But that does not mean there will be no opportunity to see the meteors, he continued.
Lunsford said Michiganders have a good chance of seeing shooting stars an hour after sundown and during the early morning hours, facing away from the moon. Sometimes if the sky is clear and the moon is up, activity is still visible.
It's important to be comfortable when stargazing. The showers can be seen by the naked eye, and you don’t have to crane your neck to look upwards when trying to spot meteors.
“It is better to look up about halfway in the sky, because a lot of the brighter meteors occur in that strip of sky that’s just above the horizon,” Lunsford said.
If the night of August 12 is cloudy, the showers will still be plenty visible in the nights preceding and following August 12, Lunsford said.
Andrew Arnold, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that while they have seen more frequent patterns of clouds and rain throughout July, this often happens during the day. This potentially opens up clearer and more ideal weather conditions for night stargazing.
Arnold said they are seeing below normal precipitation for the shower’s peak based on model predictions.
“This hopefully indicates clear skies,” Arnold said.
He said the meteor showers have no direct effect on the weather because they are happening well above where the weather occurs.
For stargazing, Lunsford recommends spots along Lake Michigan to the east, because many meteors will shoot in that direction. Parks or meeting places for local astronomical groups are also ideal locations for stargazing.
“We encourage everybody to go out, because you don’t know exactly what you’re going to see,” Lunsford said.
