Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower happens every August. The shower occurs in the Northern Hemisphere from July 23 through August 23. The date of maximum visibility is usually August 11 to the 13th. The Perseids are named after the constellation of Perseus. You might see up to 100 meteors per hour.

The Perseids are pea sized bits of rocky debris that come from the comet Swift-Tuttle. The comet is slowly falling apart as it orbits our sun. The Earth's path around the Sun carries us through this comet debris every mid-August.

The particles are called metoroids. When one of these metoroids hits the Earth's atompshere, it creates a white-hot streak of air and creates a meteor, also known as a falling star. Almost none hit the ground, but if one does, it is called a meteorite.