The Perseid meteor shower is one of the best meteor showers of the year. It peaks on the night of August 11 and the wee hours of August 12, 2020. Meteors are often called “shooting stars,” but they’re not really stars at all. The Perseid meteoroid stream comes from the debris of Comet SwiftTuttle (109P), which last passed the Earth’s orbit at the end of 1992.

Perseids are very fast, but these meteors are a bit faint, with few fireballs, so the best time to view them this year is in the evening before midnight, as the light of a Last Quarter Moon this year will obscure all but the brightest meteors when the Moon rises around midnight local time.

Drone footage generously donated by Corvid Aerial Solutions (https://corvidaerial.com). Meteors as seen from space simulation by meteorshowers.org.