One of the year’s biggest meteor showers is arriving over Hong Kong this week. The Perseid meteor shower will reach its best local viewing window from 10pm on August 12 to dawn on August 13, with moonless skies making conditions favourable.
Under ideal skies, the shower’s Zenithal Hourly Rate can reach 100 meteors.
The Perseid meteor shower happens when Earth passes through debris left behind by Comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle. As these tiny pieces enter the atmosphere at high speed, they burn up and appear as “shooting stars”.
This year, the Perseids are active from July 17 to August 24, peaking on August 13. In Hong Kong, the radiant will rise in the northeast at around 10pm on August 12, with the Space Museum estimating up to around 20 meteors visible per hour locally between 10pm and 4:30am.
For darker skies, try open, low-light spots such as Sai Kung Astropark, Tai Mei Tuk, Po Toi Island or rural coastal areas. The Hong Kong Space Museum will also livestream the shower on YouTube from 10pm to 11pm.
The next major meteor shower visible from Hong Kong this year is the Geminids, active from December 4 to 20 and peaking on December 14, with favourable local viewing and a higher ZHR of 150. Smaller showers, including the Orionids in October and Leonids in November, are also viewable.
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