2021 Perseids: The Best Meteor Shower of the Year (Peak: August 11-13)

Get out in the open, away from city lights to see the annual Perseids Meteor Shower, the most beloved meteor shower of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.

The annual Perseids meteor shower is the glittery result of Earth passing through debris left behind by a comet, so typically you should expect to see up to 40 meteors per hour – as long as you are away from light pollution and the clouds stay away.

2024 Perseids Meteor Shower
August 11-13, 2024 | Very late evening to just before dawn
Predicted Peak: The night of August 11-12 or 12-13
Make plans to stay up late the night of August 11 or wake up early the morning of August 12. Some predictions suggest August 13 will be the peak. The Perseids are best seen just before dawn. 

Is 2024 a Good Year to View the Perseids?
The moon will be 50% illuminated, but will set a midnight, providing dark skies through dawn.

The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, though at times it is possible to view meteors from this shower as early as midnight.

Can I only watch the peak? Nope! Although the peaks are the best times (as long as there’s no moonlight), annual meteor showers typically last weeks, not days… building up gradually and then falling off rapidly. The Perseids are typically visible from July 14 to August 24.

Why is this meteor shower one of the favorites? It’s a rich meteor shower, and it’s steady with up to 100 meteors per hour. These meteors frequently leave persistent trains.

Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight and typically produce the most meteors in the wee hours before dawn.

The Best Places to Watch in the Bay Area? For the best viewing, make sure you get away from city lights. 7×7 has a great write up of the best places in the Bay Area for stargazing including Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park, Lands End in San Francisco, Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, the Chabot Space Center in Oakland (which has free telescope stargazing events on most Fridays and Saturdays) and many others.

Read more at earthsky.org and Space.com