It may be one of the most beautiful shows in the summer: The perseids will illuminate our sky until the end of August. What is the best time to observe them? What areas to choose to make the most of the show? Here is All the best tips to follow To see these real stars of summer nights.
A peak of activity on the night of August 12
THE Persures of our eyes are Rights of shooting stars resulting from the passage of the comet Swift-Tuttle, in the 1990which left in its wake a swarm of dust. Every year, between July and August, when The earth crosses this clusters of tiny dustthese sometimes enter the atmosphere, at a speed of 60 kilometers per second, and turn into shooting stars.
Do not go! The peak dactivity of the most supplied shooting rain in Lannée, the Perseids, will take place on August 12-13!
I will make you a thread so that you can enjoy it properly pic.twitter.com/Q1Riwcytlo
— SpaceScience (@SpaceScience_) July 21, 2025
If the rains of shooting stars are at their peak at the beginning of August, Perseids are already visible from July 17 and until August 24, 2025. They are particularly visible in the north latitudes and therefore in France.
The activity peak Of these shooting stars will take place on the night of August 12with nearly 100 meteors visible per hour. Obviously, you need a sufficiently clear sky to enjoy the show. In the absence of clouds, you must look for the radiantthat is to say the area of the sky from which these shooting stars seem to come (this is often the name of the closest constellation, here perseus).
Light from the lights
This Perseus constellation is located at the start of the night at the bottom of the “W” formed by the Cassiopée Constellation, very easy to spot, thanks to a sky card or smartphone applications like Star Walk 2 or Sky Tonight. The ideal is obviously to Get away from the lights of major citieswhere meteors are on average 10 times less visible.
The perseids will illuminate the Canadian sky from July 17 to August 23, with lapogea on August 12. This magnificent photo of Jonathan Gazze, taken in Ontario, perfectly illustrates the beauty of these shooting stars.
Advice to observe the night sky: https://t.co/4qiwirmjbk pic.twitter.com/sEqamx3Uuq
– Canadian space agency (@ASC_CSA) July 17, 2025
Shooting stars are often Visible at the Zenithjust above you, where the atmosphere is less thick, around 20 ° in height. It is generally The height of the hand in the skywhen you have a stretched arm and your fingers set.
The other important advice: Hide the moon and find a place with high obstacles which block this lunar light (mountains, buildings, trees). Having a darker night allows you to observe more meteors, while the moon will unfortunately be in the ascending phase and then almost full at the time of the Perseid maximum.
To observe a large number of meteors, we advise you to Provide about an hour, with breaks every 10 to 15 minutesto allow your gaze to rest and thus not always stay in the air. You will then more effectively identify the meteors. Regarding comfort, essential, choose a long chair, a camp bed or a yoga carpet.
Article reference:
France 3. How to best observe the streams of shooting stars of the Perseids in Normandy?
French Association of Astronomy. Astrojunior sky map to be assembled.
