Perseids: The Most Popular Meteor Shower of Summer

The Perseids peak every August, dazzling stargazers with bright meteors.
They come from debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
The shower is named after the constellation Perseus, where the meteors appear to radiate.
At its peak, the Perseids can produce up to 100 meteors per hour under dark skies.
Many Perseid meteors leave glowing trails called persistent trains.
They’re best viewed after midnight, when Earth’s rotation faces us into the stream.
Perseid meteors are fast, entering the atmosphere at about 37 miles per second.
The shower has been observed for over 2,000 years, dating back to ancient China.
Unlike some showers, the Perseids are visible from both hemispheres, though best in the north.
Warm summer nights make them the most popular and accessible meteor shower for casual skywatchers.