--- ---  # Here’s When to See the Perseid Meteor Shower ## Video: Watch Highlights of the Orionid Meteor Shower [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Highlights of the Orionid Meteor Shower](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JIzed8sO.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-10-22. See the best moments from SLOOH Community Observatory’s live streams of one of the most beautiful astronomical events of the 2014._ by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Aug 8, 2015 5:01 PM UTC  Perseid meteors, upper left, streak past time-lapse-captured stars early morning on Aug. 13, 2013 north of Cheyenne , Wyo. Perseid meteors, upper left, streak past time-lapse-captured stars early morning on Aug. 13, 2013 north of Cheyenne , Wyo.Blaline McCartney—AP by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Aug 8, 2015 5:01 PM UTC [_Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower Live_](http://time.com/3994169/watch-perseid-meteor-shower/) Armchair astronomers, get ready. One of the best meteor showers of the year is coming in just a few days. The Perseid meteor shower will be lighting up the night sky starting Wednesday. The annual display could fill the sky with as many as 100 meteors per hour during its peak, according to NASA. This year the shower is peaking just before a new moon, so meteors will appear especially bright on the background of darkness. Aug. 12 and Aug. 13 will be the ideal nights to catch the Perseids. NASA [advises](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch/meteor.php) viewers to get as far away from city lights as possible and to keep the binoculars and telescopes at home as the meteors are easiest to see when taking in the whole sky. Also, don’t look at your cell phone. The bright screen will delay your eyes’ ability to get accustomed to the dark. ### PHOTOS: 20 Breathtaking Images of Earth From Space  Aleppo, Syria, May 26, 2013 – The Citadel of Aleppo – medieval fortified palace DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Belfast, Northern Ireland, Nov. 3, 2013 – “Wish,” a large-scale art work DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Utah, USA, April 22, 2013 – Colorado River DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Cuanza River, Angola, April 28, 2013 – Cambambe Dam DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Doha, Qatar, March 4, 2013 – Artificial island spanning nearly four million sq meters. DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Dunalley, Australia, Jan. 6, 2013 – fires, false color image (red = healthy vegetation) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Australia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier Reef DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Gwadar coast, Pakistan Sept. 29, 2013 – new island created by earthquake in Pakistan DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Croatia, Feb. 16, 2013 – Galešnjak (Island of Love) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Hong Kong, China May 9, 2013 – giant rubber duck DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, March 22, 2013 – Manam Volcano DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Namib Desert, Namibia, May 13, 2013 – Sossusvlie area DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Naples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount Vesuvius DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Niger, Feb. 13, 2013 – Arlit Uranium Mine DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Schooner Cays, Bahamas, May 26, 2013 DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Sochi, Russia, March 17, 2013 – Site of 2014 winter Olympics DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Near the city of Sur, Oman, Feb. 13, 2013 – massive “green tide” DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Valencia, Spain, July 19, 2013 – Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park with an enormous fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver trapped DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Versailles, France, Aug. 20, 2013 – Palace of Versailles DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Xi'an, China, Sept. 24, 2013 – Shiyuan Park DigitalGlobe—Getty Images Perseids Meteor Shower to Fill Up Night Sky Aug. 12 and Aug. 13 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/"},"headline":"Here’s When to See the Perseid Meteor Shower","datePublished":"2015-08-08T17:01:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:29.228Z","description":"Aug. 12 and Aug. 13 will be the ideal nights to catch the shower","url":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/","keywords":["astronomy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f57751605d20466/69885e680b72e331f36e54d1/perseids.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f57751605d20466/69885e680b72e331f36e54d1/perseids.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Perseids Meteor Shower","caption":"Perseids Meteor Shower","creditText":"Blaline McCartney—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/astronomy/","name":"astronomy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/","name":"Here’s When to See the Perseid Meteor Shower"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch Highlights of the Orionid Meteor Shower","description":"See the best moments from SLOOH Community Observatory’s live streams of one of the most beautiful astronomical events of the 2014.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/JIzed8sO/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-22T11:25:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JIzed8sO.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/","duration":"PT2M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3989792/when-is-perseid-meteor-shower/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```