the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, with clearer skies on the horizon, 2024 promises to be an excellent year to catch the annual Perseid meteor shower, peaking from Sunday through Tuesday (Aug. 11-13).
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), cloud cover should be minimal across the state during the Perseid shower, with the clearest skies expected early Sunday and Monday mornings. Overnight temperatures from Sunday to Tuesday will hover in the mid-to-upper 60s in the New York City metro area, with other parts of the Garden State dipping into the low 60s or even upper 50s.
The best time to view the Perseids is between midnight and dawn, although NASA notes that some meteors might be visible as early as 10 p.m. Under dark skies, you could see anywhere from 50 to 100 meteors per hour, with a good chance of spotting fireballs—brighter-than-usual meteors that leave glowing trails. The moon will be about 50 percent full, but it will set before midnight, leaving the skies dark for optimal viewing.
While meteor experts don’t anticipate an outburst year in 2024, surprises can always happen. For serious skywatchers, the Perseid meteor shower in August 2028 is already generating buzz, as it could coincide with a meteor storm producing over 1,000 meteors per hour.
Until then, enjoy the last major meteor shower of the summer. The Perseids are known for their swift, bright meteors, which often leave behind long trails of light and color. The only meteor shower that rivals the Perseids in brilliance is the Geminids, which light up the December skies.
Both meteor showers are also famous for producing fireballs, which are larger explosions of light and color. According to NASA, fireballs are created by larger particles of cometary material, making them brighter and longer-lasting than typical meteors.
The big difference between the Perseids and the Geminids is the season—many find it easier to stargaze on warm summer nights than in the cold of winter. If you can, find a dark sky location to watch for meteors. Most will appear during the predawn hours, but it’s possible to see them anytime after 10 p.m. during the peak.
As the American Meteor Society notes, “the more stars you see, the more meteors will also be visible.” Keep in mind that not all shooting stars will come from the Perseids. The Delta Aquariid meteor shower, which continues through Aug. 21, overlaps with the Perseids, and meteors from this shower will also be visible.
The Perseid meteors, regardless of where you see them in the sky, trace back to the radiant point in the constellation Perseus. These meteors are tiny fragments of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 135 years.
