August means meteors – and the annual Perseid meteor shower is widely regarded as the best meteor shower of the year.
Although it is active from mid-July through to the end of August, the shower peaks on the night of 12-13 August.
The chart above shows the view looking north, north-east from London on 12 August 2023 at 22:30 BST. The radiant point of the shower will be advancing into the sky by then.
From a dark site, it is possible to see as many as 60–100 meteors streak across the sky in all directions from this point every hour. From less dark sites, an average of up to one per minute should be expected.
The viewing conditions this year are good because the moon is in an advanced waning phase and only 10% of its surface will be illuminated.
To view the meteors, wrap up warm – even though it is August – and spend as much time under the night sky as possible, because you may be rewarded with an exploding meteor, called a fireball.
The radiant gets lower in the sky, and the meteors get more difficult to see, the further south you are located.
From Cape Town or Sydney, for example, it is difficult to see any at all.
