See the Perseid Meteor Shower peak

The Perseid meteor shower begins late July and peaks every August. Find out how you can spot a Perseid in the night sky this month.

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Published: August 12, 2023 at 9:21 am

The Perseid Meteor Shower 2023 is set to peak over the next few nights, making this weekend the ideal time to spot a meteor in the night sky.

The Perseids will peak is predicted to occur in the early hours of 13 August, meaning the best nights to observe the shower will be 12/13 and 13/14 August.

If you want to watch the build up to and from the peak, the nights from 10/11 to 15/16 August are worth considering too.

In this guide we'll reveal what the Perseid meteor shower is, when and how to see it.

A 2016 Perseid meteor over Cleveland National Forest, California, USA. Credit: Kevin Key / Slworking / Getty Images
A 2016 Perseid meteor over Cleveland National Forest, California, USA. Credit: Kevin Key / Slworking / Getty Images

For more info on the year's displays, read our complete guide to meteor showers.

Lunar phase for the 2023 Perseid meteor shower

The quality of the display that we see during the peak of a meteor shower is determined by two factors: the weather and the Moon.

You can’t do a great deal about the former, except monitor forecasts and relocate to a clear site if it looks like your location is going to be poor.

The Moon is easier to predict; it’s either going to be a nuisance like it was in 2022, or it’s not.

It will be at last quarter phase on 8 August and at new Moon on 16 August. This means that over the date range we’ve given for the Perseid meteor shower, there will be no moonlight interference this year.

A chart showing the radiant for the 2023 Perseid meteor shower throughout August. This is the point from which Perseid meteors will appear to emanate. Credit: Pete Lawrence
A chart showing the radiant for the 2023 Perseid meteor shower throughout August. This is the point from which Perseid meteors will appear to emanate. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Why Perseids peak, and what it means for observing

Perseid activity is modelled to produce a sharp peak centred around a specific time.

Perseid meteors occur when Earth passes through the dust spread around the orbit of short-period comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle.

The specific time of the peak represents when we are in the densest part of the dust stream.

The actual peak tends to show significant enhanced activity for a period of around 16 hours centred on that peak – this is the width of the peak beyond which activity falls to less than half the actual peak value.

However, it’s not as simple as this, because activity appears naturally enhanced for the Perseids when the shower radiant (the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate) in Perseus is higher in the sky and after midnight UT from the UK.

Aurora and perseid Olli Reijonen, Syrjävaara, Finland, August 12 2022 Equipment: Olympus M-D E-M 5 Camera, 8mm fisheye lens, tripod
Aurora and Perseid meteor, by Olli Reijonen, Syrjävaara, Finland, August 12 2022. Equipment: Olympus M-D E-M 5 Camera, 8mm fisheye lens, tripod

When's best to see the 2023 Perseid meteor shower

The night of 12/13 August should show best activity for the Perseid meteor shower, especially into the morning of the 13th.

The night of 13/14 August should be good too, but on the evening of 13 August, as meteor rates naturally fall, the shower radiant will be lower and it’ll be best before midnight UT.

During the morning of 14 August, the rates should naturally have fallen below half their predicted peak.

How to see a Perseid meteor

  • Find a dark location away from stray light
  • Make yourself comfortable (use a reclining chair to avoid neck cramp)
  • Look at an altitude around 60° in any direction
  • Looking northeast towards Perseus delivers shorter meteors that are easier to line up with the radiant
  • Longest trails are visible at 90° to the radiant
  • At 180° from the radiant, trails shorten, appearing to converge on the 'anti-radiant'
Perseid Fireball Above City Light by Jeff Dai, Mount Jinfo, Chongqing, China. Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G IF-ED.
Perseid Fireball Above City Light by Jeff Dai, Mount Jinfo, Chongqing, China. Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G IF-ED.

What causes the Perseid meteor shower?

Perseus Constellation by Alex Conu, Reine, Norway. Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L, Kenko Softon filter, Fornax LighTrack II.
Perseus Constellation by Alex Conu, Reine, Norway. Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L, Kenko Softon filter, Fornax LighTrack II.

Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through dust distributed around a comet’s orbit.

Entering our atmosphere on parallel paths, perspective causes meteor trails to appear to emanate from the same sky location, known as the shower radiant.

In the case of the Perseid meteor shower, the radiant is the constellation Perseus.

Over the activity period, the radiant’s position drifts against the background stars. Peak activity represents us passing through the densest part of the stream.

For more on the science of meteor showers, read our guide What causes a meteor shower?

Perseid Radiant Meteors by Kevin Lewis, Anglesey, UK. Equipment: Canon 5D3, 24-70mm lens, tripod mount.
Perseid Radiant Meteors by Kevin Lewis, Anglesey, UK. Equipment: Canon 5D3, 24-70mm lens, tripod mount.

Perseid meteor shower top tips

There are a few tricks and tips to employ when observing any meteor shower:

  • Avoid artificial light as much as possible when viewing the shower
  • You don't have to get to a dark-sky site: try keeping street and house lights out of your line of sight
  • Use a torch with a red filter (to preserve your night vision) to find your way.
  • Let your eyes adapt to the darkness for 30-40 minutes and you’ll see much fainter meteors
  • Wrap up warm with good thermals and a warm, waterproof coat.
  • Keep your feet warm: cold can creep up through the ground even on a warm summer night
  • Lie back to view the stars, so you can see a large swathe of sky without straining your neck
  • A garden lounger or other astronomy chair is a great viewing platform
  • Look for Perseid meteors at an altitude around 60˚ in any direction
  • Longest trails are seen 40–140˚ from the radiant; towards the radiant expect short trails.
  • A look in the opposite direction to the radiant will reveal trails that appear short and converge to a point called the anti-radiant
Lying or reclining is a great way to observe meteor showers without getting cramp in your neck. Here, meteor watchers await the Perseid peak of 12 August 2018 at the Rocky Mountain National Park in the US. Credit: STAN HONDA / AFP via Getty Images.
Lying or reclining is a great way to observe meteor showers without getting cramp in your neck. Here, meteor watchers await the Perseid peak of 12 August 2018 at the Rocky Mountain National Park in the US. Credit: STAN HONDA / AFP via Getty Images.

Perseid displays often exhibit bright events, many of which show what appears to be an after image of the trail, which is a weakly glowing column of ionised gas.

This ‘meteor train’ fades from view as the energy in the ionised atoms is given up. High altitude winds may also affect the train, distorting its shape.

Perseid over Southern Milky Way by Scott, Scottish Borders, UK. Equipment: Canon 5D MK III, Samyang 24mm.
Perseid over Southern Milky Way by Scott, Scottish Borders, UK. Equipment: Canon 5D MK III, Samyang 24mm.

Zenithal Hourly Rate

If you read some of the media coverage of meteor showers like the Perseids, you might think that, at their peak, these events see a near-constant rain of bright shooting stars blazing across the sky.

Real meteor showers – while captivating and absolutely worth observing – are rarely like this.

One number that’s often mentioned is the Zenithal Hourly Rate, or ZHR. This is a theoretical number of meteors that would be visible, on average, over an hour with the radiant of the shower at the zenith and the viewing occurring under perfect sky conditions.

Perseids Meteor Shower Aug 11-12 2015 by Michael Rosinski, Howell, Michigan, USA. Equipment: Canon 70D, UWA 11-16mm lens
Perseid Meteor Shower Aug 11-12 2015 by Michael Rosinski, Howell, Michigan, USA. Equipment: Canon 70D, UWA 11-16mm lens

The ZHR isn’t a good indicator of how many meteors you can expect to see every hour, however; that figure will be lower because of things like light pollution and the typically lower radiant at the observing time.

It’s possible to roughly estimate how many Perseids you might spot, on average, near the peak of the shower.

Such a calculation suggests that while observing at around 3am (BST) on the night of the peak, a group of observers at a suburban site – where the naked-eye limiting magnitude is, say, 5 – could potentially see a rate of about 25 Perseids an hour or so.

Of course, given the presence of a bright Moon in 2022, the number of meteors you see will be limited.

Perseid Meteor by Luke Hayes, Essex, UK. Equipment: Digital camera
Perseid Meteor by Luke Hayes, Essex, UK. Equipment: Digital camera

What is a meteor?

Meteors begin their lives out in the depths of space as tiny grains of dust, known as ‘meteoroids’.

If any of these flecks of interplanetary material are unfortunate enough to hit Earth as they travel around the Sun, they collide with our atmosphere at many kilometres per second and get vaporised in the process.

The narrow ribbon of light that occurs when this happens is the meteor – what many call a ‘shooting star’ – and they’re happening all the time.

Perseid streaks as Jupiter is Swallowed by Simon Rowland, Las Canadas, Tenerife. Equipment: Canon 1100D, Samyang 14mm.
Perseid streaks as Jupiter is Swallowed, by Simon Rowland, Las Canadas, Tenerife. Equipment: Canon 1100D, Samyang 14mm.

On a clear night if you look up at the stars for, say, half an hour or so, it’s highly likely that you’ll see a meteor at some point – especially from an observing site with dark skies.

Many meteors that you see like this will be what’s known as ‘sporadic’ meteors. Essentially that means that they are random in nature and can appear anywhere in the sky, going in any direction.

What’s different with the Perseid meteor shower is that Perseids, while they can materialise anywhere against the backdrop of stars, all appear to streak from a fairly-well defined point on the sky – astronomers call it the ‘radiant’.

Perseid Meteor by David Grace, Cardigan, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, Sigma Wide Angle lens, Tripod.
Perseid Meteor by David Grace, Cardigan, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, Sigma Wide Angle lens, Tripod.

This behaviour is, in fact, an optical illusion. The meteors are actually travelling on broadly parallel paths, as the meteoroids that create them plough into the top of Earth’s atmosphere.

It’s merely a trick of perspective that makes them look like they’re zooming across the sky from the radiant point.

While ‘normal’ sporadic meteors originate from meteoroids scattered in a fairly random way between the planets, meteors in meteor showers like the Perseids occur when Earth passes through a stream of dusty material left by a comet or asteroid as it has journeyed around the Sun.

In the case of the Perseids, that’s a cloud of dust left by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

Every year Earth’s orbit brings our planet into a position where its path intersects with that trail.We sail through the stream of dusty particles over the course of a few weeks and the result is the Perseid meteor shower.

How to photograph the Perseid meteor shower

The short and warm nights of mid August are ideal conditions for photographing the Perseids. Credit: Pete Lawrence
The short and warm nights of mid August are ideal conditions for photographing the Perseids. Credit: Pete Lawrence

A camera set up to do a multi-second exposure of the night sky will typically return a bright, overexposed frame if the Moon is nearby.

However, with careful tuning of the camera’s settings, it is possible to reduce the intensity of the recorded background sky so that it doesn’t overexpose.

For example, reducing the camera’s sensitivity (low ISO, small aperture) will deliver a multi-second exposure without overexposure. Under normal nighttime conditions, such settings probably wouldn’t record many meteors.

Perseids 2016 by Ali Matinfar, Ramsar, Iran. Equipment: Canon6D.
Perseids 2016 by Ali Matinfar, Ramsar, Iran. Equipment: Canon6D.

To work here, the camera needs to be set to the settings you would normally use for meteor imaging – high ISO and wide aperture – but the exposure time needs to be reduced to prevent sky overexposure.

In this way, if a meteor trail passes through the camera frame, it should record just as it would if the sky were darker and the exposure longer.

There are caveats though. Shorter exposures mean more shots will be taken.

The ideal filetype here is your camera’s RAW image format, and such files tend to be on the large side.

Lots of large image files means you need plenty of storage available, but for modern cameras this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

More frames also require more time to check afterwards.

Perseid meteor shower Juan Miguel Sala, Moya, Cuenca, Spain, 13 August 2021 Equipment: Nikon D850 DSLR, Sigma Art 14mm lens, Benro tripod
Perseid meteor shower by Juan Miguel Sala, Moya, Cuenca, Spain, 13 August 2021. Equipment: Nikon D850 DSLR, Sigma Art 14mm lens, Benro tripod

Mind the gap in your imaging time

The use of RAW means that at the end of each shot a fair amount of data needs to be transferred to your camera’s storage card. This can create a ‘gap’ in your camera’s imaging capability, a period when no image is being taken.

Under normal ‘dark sky’ meteor exposure settings, this gap will be far shorter than the exposure time. However, when the Moon is about and exposure times need to be radically shortened, the gap becomes significant.

For example, a one-second gap vs a 29-second exposure means that only two seconds of imaging time is lost per minute (3.3%).

However, if the exposure time is reduced to one second, this equals the gap time. Consequently, 30 seconds are lost per minute of imaging time (50%).

A shorter exposure also raises the probability of truncating a meteor trail mid-flight, something that increases for brighter and longer meteor trails.

Although not ideal, it is still possible to set up a camera to record this year’s Perseid shower and, given clear weather, there’s every chance that you will be able to record some trails.

And as it’s likely there will be fewer people out having a go on the night of the 12th/13th, if you do capture a bright trail you may well be the only one to do so.

Follow our step-by-step guide below and see what you can catch.

For more advice, read our guide on how to photograph a meteor shower and our pick of the best equipment for photographing meteor showers.

Photograph the Perseid meteor shower, step-by-step

How to use a DSLR camera. Credit: Gajus / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Credit: Gajus / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Equipment

  • DSLR camera
  • MILC camera
  • Tripod or tracking mount
  • Remote shutter release

Step 1

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 01

Choose a lens that will give you a good field of view but avoid going too wide as the trails will appear small and unimpressive. Something around the 14–18mm mark would be a good compromise. Have a set of charged batteries ready as well as plenty of storage cards and a lockable remote shutter cable.

Step 2

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 02

The camera will need to be mounted on a stable platform. A tripod will keep the camera still as the sky moves through the field of view. A tracking mount will keep the camera pointing at the same area of sky. If using a tracking mount, make sure the camera doesn’t end up pointing at a foreground object.

Step 3

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 03

Set camera and lens to manual and check the camera clock. Pre-focus at infinity using a bright target such as Jupiter. Older cameras should be set to an ISO value of 3200 or 6400, while more modern bodies can go further, eg 5000-10,000. Fully open the aperture, reducing by a stop or two if edge stars distort.

Step 4

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 04

Aim at an area of sky that won’t bring the Moon into frame. Set a test exposure of 5s and take a shot. Examine the sky. If it’s overexposed, reduce the exposure. If it appears dark, consider increasing exposure. Reduce ISO or aperture only if you can’t get a non-overexposed sky with less than a 1s exposure.

Step 5

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 05

Set the camera to continuous shutter mode and lock the button down on a connected remote shutter cable. The camera should continuously take shots at the pre-set exposure. Routinely check the lens for moisture, using a 12V hairdryer to remove any. A 12V heater band is a recommended alternative if you have one.

Step 6

photograph perseid meteor shower full moon 06

Capture for as long as you can. Download the results. Using aviewing app, examine each image in turn. Renaming any suspected trail images with a prefix (eg ‘meteor_’) makes themeasier to find later on. Perseid trails should align with theradiant and often show green-pink coloration.

Pictures of Perseid meteors

If you're in need of some inspiration, below is a selection of Perseid meteors captured by astrophotographers and BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers.

If you do manage to photograph a Perseid meteor, we'd love to see it! Find out how to send us your astrophotos, or get in touch via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Perseid Meteor by Mike Barber, Solihull, W. Midlands, UK. Equipment: Pentax K-r, tripod.
Perseid Meteor by Mike Barber, Solihull, W. Midlands, UK. Equipment: Pentax K-r, tripod.
Meteor Astrophoto by Martin Goodall, Totton, Southampton, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens shot at 17mm.
Meteor Astrophoto by Martin Goodall, Totton, Southampton, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 60D, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens shot at 17mm.
Perseids by Robin Durant, Brighton, UK. Equipment: Astrotrac, Canon 450D.
Perseids by Robin Durant, Brighton, UK. Equipment: Astrotrac, Canon 450D.
Bright Persied leaving a Glowing Vapour Trail by Dave Garland, Bristol, UK. Equipment: Cannon 1100D
Bright Persied leaving a Glowing Vapour Trail by Dave Garland, Bristol, UK. Equipment: Cannon 1100D
Nova Delphinus 2013 and Perseid by Jarrod Bennett, Mutxamel, Spain. Equipment: Canon 450D, 50mm lens, Vixen Polarie.
Nova Delphinus 2013 and Perseid by Jarrod Bennett, Mutxamel, Spain. Equipment: Canon 450D, 50mm lens, Vixen Polarie.
Perseid Meteor 2013 by Colin Foran, Reading, Berkshire, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 550D, Sigma EX 10-20mm lens.
Perseid Meteor 2013 by Colin Foran, Reading, Berkshire, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 550D, Sigma EX 10-20mm lens.
Perseids and Satellites Sketch by Deirdre Kelleghan, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Equipment: Conte, Gel Pen, and Pencil on black paper.
Perseids and Satellites Sketch by Deirdre Kelleghan, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Equipment: Conte, Gel Pen, and Pencil on black paper.
The Perseid Meteor Shower by Gavin James, Marlborough, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 1DX, 15mm lens.
The Perseid Meteor Shower by Gavin James, Marlborough, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 1DX, 15mm lens.
Perseid Meteor Shower by Joy Stevens, Dorset, UK. Equipment: Canon 70D, Samyang 14mm f/2.8
Perseid Meteor Shower by Joy Stevens, Dorset, UK. Equipment: Canon 70D, Samyang 14mm f/2.8
Perseid: Javelin over Caph by James Robertson, Croydon, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Esprit 80ed, 400mm/f5, Celestron AVX mount, canon 750d astro modified. Iso 400 30 seconds.
Perseid: Javelin over Caph by James Robertson, Croydon, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Esprit 80ed, 400mm/f5, Celestron AVX mount, canon 750d astro modified. Iso 400 30 seconds.
Perseid Meteor by Paul Crossland, Liverpool, UK. Equipment: Konica Minolta 7D.
Perseid Meteor by Paul Crossland, Liverpool, UK. Equipment: Konica Minolta 7D.
Perseid Meteor by John Robinson, Braintree, Essex, UK. Equipment: Nikon D300, Tokina 12-24 mm lens.
Perseid Meteor by John Robinson, Braintree, Essex, UK. Equipment: Nikon D300, Tokina 12-24 mm lens.
Perseid Meteor by John Elder, UK. Equipment: Canon 60Da
Perseid Meteor by John Elder, UK. Equipment: Canon 60Da
Perseids 2016 by Ali Matinfar, Ramsar, Iran. Equipment: Canon6D.
Perseids 2016 by Ali Matinfar, Ramsar, Iran. Equipment: Canon6D.
Perseid by Bogdan Isac. Equipment: Nikon D600.
Perseid by Bogdan Isac. Equipment: Nikon D600.
A Perseid on the Old Mill by David de Cuevas, Treize Vents, France. Equipment: Star Adventurer, Canon 6D, 24-105mm lens.
A Perseid on the Old Mill by David de Cuevas, Treize Vents, France. Equipment: Star Adventurer, Canon 6D, 24-105mm lens.
2017 Perseid Meteor by Davy Cannon, Hamilton, Scotland, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 60Da DSLR, Samyang 8mm fisheye lens
2017 Perseid Meteor by Davy Cannon, Hamilton, Scotland, UK. Equipment: Canon EOS 60Da DSLR, Samyang 8mm fisheye lens
Perseid Trail left by Meteor by David Grace, Cardigan, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, Sigma Wide Angle lens, Tripod.
Perseid Trail left by Meteor by David Grace, Cardigan, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, Sigma Wide Angle lens, Tripod.
Perseids & Cassiopeia by Darren Felgate, Scarborough, UK. Equipment: iPhone, standard camera tripod
Perseids & Cassiopeia by Darren Felgate, Scarborough, UK. Equipment: iPhone, standard camera tripod
Perseid Meteor Shower by John Short, Dumfries, UK. Equipment: Sony A7s, Samyang 35mm lens
Perseid Meteor Shower by John Short, Dumfries, UK. Equipment: Sony A7s, Samyang 35mm lens
Perseid Meteor over Broadway Tower by Andy Taylor, Worcestershire, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, 24-105mm lens.
Perseid Meteor over Broadway Tower by Andy Taylor, Worcestershire, UK. Equipment: Canon 60D, 24-105mm lens.

Pete Lawrence is an experienced astronomer and a co-presenter of The Sky at Night. This guide originally appeared in the August 2021 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

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