See Up to 100 Meteors Per Hour Across the Texas Sky Sunday Night

One of the great celestial consistencies, the Perseid meteor shower, will reach its peak late Sunday night/early Monday morning August 11-12.

The Perseid meteor shower is the result of Earth passing through the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

The Perseids is hailed by many as the best annual meteor shower. 50-100 'shooting stars' every hour makes for a stargazer's paradise. This year, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower will occur after 9 p.m. Sunday and before sunrise on Monday (August 11-12).

Another round of frequent meteors is expected late at night on Monday.

Some of the brightest meteors will be visible in city settings, however, for the best viewing travel beyond the city and find the darkest possible sky. Allow about a half hour for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. Do not look at your cell phone while viewing the sky. The bright screens will hamper your night vision.

Perseid Meteors Fast Facts

According to a NASA blog by Wayne Smith, Perseid meteors can travel up to 132,000 mph. Peak temperatures can exceed 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Almost all the meteors burn up around 60 miles above Earth.

The 2024 Perseid meteor shower started in late July with the first 'shooting star' being captured by NASA’s All Sky Meteor Camera Network on July 23. The meteor was only about 5 millimeters in diameter and it entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean and burned up over 60 miles above central Florida, just south of Orlando.

The yearly Perseid meteor shower usually spans from July 17 through August 24. 

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