What's a Meteor shower ?

[jeff of pa]

Seriously ! I Never Saw a 'Meteor shower' I See these Live Vids Saying 'Meteor shower'
But Unlesss I'm Wrong on What a 'Meteor shower' is
I Got Tired of Watching UFO's i'm Sure I saw over a Dozen UFO's before I saw 1 Shooting Star (Meteor)
I Thought a 'Meteor shower' Would be Shooting Stars every Second or So

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Depends on which metor shower is involved. You need to be away from any light pollution, as dark a sky as you can. I have seen Perseid shower multiple times. It want be ever second or two, but you will see maybe 1-3 per minute with clear dark skies.

The Perseid meteor shower (peaking around August 12-13) is generally considered the most active and popular, producing 50-100+ bright meteors per hour in warm summer conditions. It is known for high, consistent rates and frequently produces fireballs.

NASA Science (.gov) +3
Key Details on Top Meteor Showers:

• Perseids (Mid-August): Known for being very reliable, producing swift, bright meteors, and sometimes fireballs.
• Geminids (Mid-December): Often rivals or exceeds the Perseids in raw numbers, with some years producing over 100-150+ meteors per hour.
• Quadrantids (Early January): Another high-intensity, short-duration shower that can produce 100+ meteors per hour, but requires cold, clear weather.
  
  
  NASA Science (.gov)

Why the Perseids are Ranked Top:

• High Activity: 50–100+ meteors per hour.
• Visibility: They are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during warm summer nights.
• Longevity: They are active from late July to late August, with a broad peak.
• Brightness: They often leave long "wakes" of light and color.
  

2026 Outlook:

• The 2026 Perseids are expected to have excellent viewing conditions, as the peak coincides with a new moon, allowing for very dark skies.
  

Perseids - NASA Science
Apr 3, 2025 — The Perseids, which peaks in mid-August, is considered the best meteor shower of the year. With swift and bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long "wakes"

NASA Science (.gov)

Meteor Shower Calendar - imo.net
Perseids ( PER) ... The Perseids are the most popular meteor shower as they peak on warm August nights as seen from the northern hemisphere. The Perseids are ac...

Major Meteor Showers You Can See Throughout The Year
Mar 8, 2024 — Perseids. ... This meteor shower is one of the more popular ones here in the northern hemisphere. Occurring during late summer and averaging a whopping 100-150 ...

AMLI apartments


Meteor showers 2026 — When, where and how to see ... - Space
Jan 14, 2026 — August: Perseids ... The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most prolific showers of the year, producing rich, bright streaks. The Perseids are active from mid...

Space



3:14

It's time for the Perseids, one of the best meteor showers of the year

YouTube·CBC News

The Quadrantid meteor shower 2026: How to… | The Planetary Society
The Quadrantid meteor shower 2026: How to… The Planetary Society.

The Planetary Society


List of meteor showers - Wikipedia
Named meteor showers recur at approximately the same dates each year. They appear to radiate from a certain point in the sky, known as the radiant, and vary in ...

 

[jeff of pa]

it was Dark when I Was Watching, Only saw one the entire Time
Sounds Boreing calling it a Shower

if it were a rain shower you'd never get wet

 

[Red-Coat]

A ‘shower’ means multiple streaks or falls from a single source or of the same origin. It could be anything from Earth passing though a large debris cloud creating hundreds of streaks (those are generally periodic, with a predictable date) all the way down to the disintegration of a single fragile meteoroid in the atmosphere creating a mere handful of streaks (those are generally random and unpredictable).

The feed says it’s live and carries today’s date, but there are no major meteor showers expected to be visible over Hawaii during the end of February. If the feed does actually capture a shower, then it will be a minor and probably random event.

I happened to be staying with friends in Santa Monica 20-odd years ago when we heard on the radio that the Los Angeles area was expected to be one the best viewing areas for the annual Perseid shower that produces around 100 meteors per hour at its peak. Many folk headed to the top of Topanga Canyon where there is little parking and it quickly became gridlocked. In any case, the view was spoiled by some cloud cover. We made a different decision to drive out into the Mojave Desert, where there was only one other car, and a clear sky with no light pollution.

My friend’s wife described it as one of the most exciting nights of her life, as we watched the shower build up from one streak every few seconds to multiples per second that were too numerous to count over the course of about an hour and a half. As we drove away, thinking the shower to be pretty much over, one huge and extremely bright streak came in creating the impression it was much nearer to the ground than was actually the case. We all instinctively, but pointlessly, ducked. Afterwards, some of us (including me) insisted that we had heard a ‘whump’ sound, but that was also an illusion. The same auditory effect that some people’s brains conjure up when they see a bright flash such as from a powerful photographic flashgun.