The best time to see the flashiest meteor shower of 2023 in SC happens soon. When and how to watch

Patrick McCreless
·2 min read

South Carolina will soon have a front row seat to a top tier meteor shower.

According to NASA, the Perseid meteor shower, considered the best meteor shower of the year, is active every mid-July to late August, but will peak on Sunday. The annual event generates swift and bright meteors that often leave long “wakes” of light and color behind them as they steak through the atmosphere.

Perseids are also known for their fireballs — larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak, NASA states. The fireballs originate from larger particles of comet material.

In addition, this year the Perseid meteor shower will be more visible than usual because the moon will only be about 10% illuminated, space.com states.

“Years without moonlight see higher rates of meteors per hour, and in outburst years (such as in 2016) the rate can be between 150-200 meteors an hour,” space.com states. “On average, you can expect to see up to 100 meteors per hour during the Perseids’ peak.”

When and how to watch

The Perseid meteor shower will be best viewed during pre-dawn hours, however, it may be possible to see it as early as 10 p.m. on Sunday.

To find the meteor shower, look for the point in the sky where they appear to originate, a spot known as the radiant. The Perseids’ radiant is in the Perseus constellation, NASA states.

To best view the meteors, go to the darkest possible spot, lean back and let your eyes take in as much sky as possible. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark. Telescopes and binoculars are unnecessary.

Where do meteors come from?

Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. A meteor shower occurs when the Earth crosses the path of a comet and collides with those particles, which burn up in the atmosphere.

The Perseid meteor shower is caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862 by two astronomers, Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, space.com states.