Perseid meteor shower: Your best chance to see night sky spectacle in 2025 - how to spot them
People wanting to see them at peak brightness may have a late night or early morning in store ☄
- The yearly Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak tonight
- But the annual fireball extravaganza may be harder to see than in years past
- Regardless, stargazers may still spot up to 20 shooting stars per hour if the weather is on their side
- For those that miss out, tonight won’t be their last chance to see it
One of the highlights of the annual stargazing calendar will reach its peak tonight – but it may be a little trickier than usual to see with the naked eye.
The Perseid meteor shower is visible for a time every year across much of the Northern Hemisphere, usually from mid July until late August. But for a few glorious nights it will hit a crescendo, with dozens of ‘shooting stars’ dancing across the night sky each hour.
That time has now come. Tuesday night (August 12/13) is expected to be the height of the annual spectacle, according to BBC’s Sky at Night magazine. Unfortunately, astronomy experts have warned that it might not be so easy to observe in its full glory in 2025, especially for the more casual stargazer.
But that doesn’t mean that there’s no point keeping an eye on the sky, or that there is nothing people in the UK hoping to catch a glimpse can do to maximise their chances. Here’s everything you need to know about the Perseids, from what they actually are, to how you can increase your odds of seeing them them:
What actually is the Perseid meteor shower?
The Perseid meteor shower is directly connected to the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet. This space giant is also orbiting our sun, although it takes about 133 years to make a full lap, according to experts at EarthSky.
The meteor shower that we see here is actually bits of dust and debris from that comet burning up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, US space agency NASA says. This is why there tends to be a peak night each year, which lines up with when the planet passes through the thickest parts of this cloud.
The reason it is called the Perseid meteor shower is because they look like they’re coming from the constellation Perseus – named after the Greek mythological hero. In astronomy, the point in the sky where meteors appear to be coming from is known as the ‘radiant’.
Why seeing it may be tricky this year
August’s full moon – sometimes known as the Sturgeon Moon – arrived over the weekend. Even though it is now waning, the moon remains very large and bright. This illuminates the night sky, and can make it harder to see the smaller, dimmer lights of the meteor shower.
EarthSky says that typically, someone watching a dark night sky during the Perseids’ peak would see between 60 and 90 shooting stars over the course of an hour. But only about a quarter of that will be visible in bright moonlight, or around 10 to 20 per hour.
How can I see it – and where will be the best places in the UK to watch?
Royal Museums Greenwich says that people in the UK should be able to see the odd meteor from the time the sun sets. But if you’re wanting to see a lot of them at peak brightness, you might have either a late night or an early morning in store – with the best viewing times being between midnight and 5.30am.
As always, dark skies with few other sources of light pollution (except the moon, which nothing can be done about) are typically the best places to observe anything going on in the night sky. Spots across the UK known for having especially dark skies include Northumberland, Herefordshire, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, and large parts of Northern Ireland.
However, it is possible to see at least some of the meteor shower anywhere that the weather is clear. According to the Met Office’s cloud cover map, much of the south and midlands of England will be in luck tonight. However, there is spotty cloud cover expected over the north, as well as over much of Scotland and Northern Ireland throughout the night – especially over northern Scotland. If you’re keen on heading out to watch the spectacle, it’s best to check your local weather forecast for a better idea.
If the bright moon is what is disrupting your viewing, the good news is that the shower will continue for the next few weeks. It won’t be quite as intense as it’s expected to be tonight, but keeping an eye out over the next few days as the moon continues to dwindle (but we’re still close to the event’s peak) will give you a good chance of spotting meteors.
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