Illinois Skywatchers: The Perseid Meteor Shower Is Just Starting

One of the best and longest-lasting meteor showers of the entire year, the 2025 Perseid Meteor Shower (or, just "The Perseids") has just gotten started, and anytime over the next month would be a great time to get outside and look up. The Perseids will last until early September, but the absolute peak viewing time is August 12th and 13th.

According to NASA, you can expect to see an average of up to 100 meteors per hour during the Perseid's peak. However, you don't have to wait for the Perseids to peak to enjoy a really cool sky-show anytime we have clear skies at night. It's even better when there's little to no moonlight.

According To A Bunch Of Sky-Watching Websites I Visited, The Perseids Are Pretty Much The Gold Standard Of Meteor Showers

Space.com has some background on what you can see over the next six weeks:

The Perseids result from Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed close to Earth in 1992.

The shower peaks around Aug. 11-13, when Earth travels through the densest and dustiest part of this debris. In years without moonlight, the meteor rate appears higher, and during outburst years (such as 2016), the rate can reach 150-200 meteors per hour.

So What's The Best Time For Viewing The Perseids In And Around Rockford?

According to the experts out there, you should plan to start "late," which is actually "early," as in late at night/early in the morning. Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into midnight. The shower typically produces the most meteors in the hours before dawn.

NASA points out that when you sit back to watch a meteor shower, you're actually seeing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking across the sky at 37 miles per second.