How to Plan Your Astronomy Getaway: Meteor Showers
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric
I've been an astronomy nerd for a long time now. I think it was around 1997 when the fascination with the night sky took off. In 1999, my dad woke me up early to see the Perseid meteor shower in the front yard. We weren't out there long because he had to go to work, but I still remember seeing my first meteors that morning. To this day, I have kept the tradition alive and have been fortunate enough to view the Perseids either the peak night or night before/after every single year since 1999. I am often asked when the best time to see a meteor shower. This post will be all about the main showers throughout the year and how to best plan to see them. They are the perfect excuse to plan a camping trip away from the city.
What is a meteor?
Meteors are generally debris from comets. When a comet travels through the solar system, it leaves a trail of small particles. If the comet has traveled through Earth's orbit, the Earth will hit this stream of debris and these bits of dust and small rock will encounter our atmosphere at great speeds. The intense speed coupled with the friction from the Earth's atmosphere causes the particles to burn visibly and here on Earth, we'll see it from the ground as a very quick streak of light. The average meteor is only around the size of a grain of rice or so. The larger the rock, the brighter and more brilliant the meteor can become. The really bright ones are known as fireballs and the technical designation I've always been told is a magnitude of -5 which is a little brighter than the planet Venus. The most spectacular fireball I've ever witnessed was not during a meteor shower at all. It took place on a random September night in 2006. While taking a break from looking through the eyepiece of my telescope, an incredible fireball streaked across the sky taking 6-7 seconds to burn through. It was brighter than a full moon, the sky around it was blue like day time, and it had a thick smoke trail much like an airplane contrail looks like. Absolutely incredible. Fireballs like this are pretty uncommon, but it goes to show you never know what you may see when you look up.
How are meteor showers predicted?
Remember how the comet left a trail of dust and rocks in Earth's path? Well, every year when the Earth travels through that part of the orbit, it'll encounter the debris field time and time again. Because these trails can be spread out by a fair amount, any particular meteor shower can have meteors associated with it visible several days or even weeks around the peak night. Of course the peak night is prime, but the night before or after can also be quite good. In the nights before or after the main 3 days you'll still see some, but they will be much fewer and farther between.
Do I always have to wake up ridiculously early?
Not always and I'll cover the specifics here shortly, but a general explanation is this. Every meteor shower has a constellation associated with it. For example, the Perseids have a radiant in the constellation Perseus, Orionids have a radiant in the constellation Orion, and the Geminids have a radiant in the constellation Gemini. The radiant is where the meteors appear to originate from and if you trace the path of the meteor back and it's from a specific area within that particular constellation, it's part of that shower. Any other meteors you may see with a different path or orientation are known as sporadic meteors and those are not from the same comet debris trail.
With that said, depending on what constellation the radiant is in will determine when the best viewing will be. Generally speaking, the higher the constellation is in the sky, the more meteors you'll see and it just happens that the majority of meteor showers have the radiant constellation that isn't visible until the middle of the night or early morning, but there is a cool exception: earthgrazers. Earthgrazers are meteors that can appear even before the radiant constellation has broken the horizon. There are very few of them that occur (say 1-3 an hour, if that, for major showers in my experience), but they are usually very special. Due to the odd angle, they can skim off the atmosphere like a skipping stone in a pond which makes them very unique to observe. They are oftentimes on the brighter side if not fireball status, their trails are usually longer and one can go from horizon to horizon, and I've seen them break apart into several pieces too a couple times. Because you want the radiant constellation to be low in the sky or below the horizon, it means you can typically go out for these much earlier. You will see much less action, but a patient observer can be rewarded big time.
Alrighty, this seems kinda cool. So what's the best way to see a meteor shower?
- The darker the sky, the more you'll see. Cities ruin the show. You may see a couple of the brightest ones, but that's about it. Take the moon into account as well.
- Find a place with a better view of the sky. Open fields provide more expansive views which means less meteors are missed because they were hidden from view. Trust me, looking through small open areas in a dark forest really limits the experience.
- If at all possible, say no to cramped necks and find a way to lay down. Sleeping bags work great! Reclining beach chairs or even picnic tables can do the trick too. When you lay down, you take the strain off your neck which makes it so much more comfortable. You also don't have to take breaks from looking up which could cause you to miss the show.
When you're looking, don't just stare at one spot in the sky. Look around, but also use your averted vision. This is to say the sides of your eyes which are better at picking up fainter things.
The closer to the radiant you're looking, the shorter the meteor trails tend to be while the further away ones can oftentimes be much longer. It's not always like this, however, it's a pretty safe bet.
- Dress appropriately for the season. The warmer meteor showers may have you battling skeeters and such while the colder showers will have you contending with the cold. You won't be moving much so if it's cold out, wear more layers than you'd normally think to wear.
Enough already, when are these meteor showers?
I will list the main ones throughout the year that the average person would likely be interested in. Only 2 of the 7 I'm listing are major showers (60+ per hour possible at dark sky sites), but some of the others can be worth staying up for too. There are more than this, however, the others are generally more for experienced backyard astronomers as the hourly rates are much lower or the meteors are fainter. All of the meteor showers listed are ones I've seen a minimum of 3 times.
April: Lyrids (Constellation Lyra)
Peaking the night of April 21st. Anytime after 11p with after 2a being best.
This is actually a fairly low hourly rate shower with estimates in the 15-20/hr range. My experience is usually 5-10/hr, but I've never seen it in dark skies. These meteors are usually on the quicker side, but can also be pretty bright. Being late April presents the possibility of warming nights depending on where you live.
May: Aquariids (Constellation Aquarius)
Peaking the night of May 4th. After 4:30a is best for northern observers.
The further south you are, the better the show. In the Midwest under not super dark skies, I've been in the 10-20/hr range. Southern observers could be up to 40-50/hr on a good night under very dark skies. These are also quicker meteors and brightness varies.
August: Perseids (Constellation Perseus)
Peaking the night of August 12th. Meteors can be seen as early as after 10p (especially earthgrazers), but best activity is from 2-5a.
This is one of the big ones of the year with peak rates up to 100-120/hr in very dark skies. In the Cincinnati suburbs I was averaging 40-48/hr and in my darker Indiana farm I've approached the 80/hr mark. It's a great all around meteor shower and perfect for beginners given the higher activity rates and warmer night temperatures. You can easily get into some fireballs with this show. Don't miss this one!
October: Orionids ( Constellation Orion)
Peaking the night of October 20th. As early as 1a is ideal, but anytime from 4a on is best.
The Orionids were long my 3rd favorite show of the year as rates were generally 15-25/hr many of which are brighter and orange in color. While it doesn't have huge numbers, the fairly consistent hourly numbers and generally brighter meteors hold it down as a good show.
November: Taurids (Constellation Taurus) and Leonids (Constellation Leo)
The Taurids are actually a double meteor shower and I've done pretty well with peak viewing in the November 5th to 7th ranges. You can see these as early as 10p as Taurus is already well above the horizon by then.
The Leonids peak the night of November 17th and anytime after 2a should be fine, but 5a or so is best.
The Taurids are a very special meteor shower in that they produce an unusually high number of fireballs and they are really slow. Peak rates are very low at only 5-10/hr at best, but the wait times are well worth it!
The Leonids wouldn't typically make it on this list, however, I'm including it because of its potential at high numbers. Usual numbers are in the 10-20/hr range, but the Leonids have a history of producing insane numbers. Back in 2001, we saw over 600 in just 45 minutes in northern Kentucky. It averaged 2-3 at a time with plenty of fireballs and will likely forever be the #1 meteor shower of my lifetime. People in dark skies were seeing over 1000 per hour. In 1833, 1866, and 1966 there are accounts of people seeing an average of 12 per second and some estimating up to 40 per second with total hourly numbers as high as over 100,000! Truly mind boggling. Sadly the next meteor storm is predicted to not take place until 2099, but it may have some good years to come in the 80-100/hr range. You never know.
December: Geminids (Constellation Gemini)
Peaking the night of December 13th. The show begins as early as 10p, but midnight onwards is where the true magic lies.
The Geminids truly are THE show of the year. Sadly, my luck has been terrible with clouds this time of year as I've only been able to see it 4 times in a 24 year span so far, but when it does work out, man, what a show! Peak hourly rates can be over 120. 2023 was a fantastic year with 97 counted in 65 minutes. After going in the house, I looked out the window and caught another 8 over a few more minutes. My kids saw some that I missed so including theirs, we were probably closer to 110 or so over those 65 minutes. The next evening produced 47 in an hour with many fireballs. This is another can't miss show, but be sure to dress warmly!
Useful Links
Earthsky meteor shower guide - https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/earthskys-meteor-shower-guide/
Space.com 2024 meteor shower guide - https://www.space.com/39469-best-meteor-showers.html
Cleardarksky website for astronomical weather conditions and light pollution maps - https://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/
So there you have it, my guide to planning your meteor shower viewing experience. If you like this post, be sure to subscribe and check back for more!
As always, B.E. Adventurous!