The much-awaited Perseid meteor shower is set to peak in India this weekend. The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is expected on August 11 and 12, from 8:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST) i.e. from the late evening of Sunday to the early hours of Monday, as per the reports of Earthsky.org.
The 2023 Perseids were the best celestial show, as the moon was only 10% illuminated. This year the moon will be 50% illuminated, therefore you might see fewer meteors, but wait till midnight on August 12 to see the Perseids at their peak as the moon will set until midnight, making it the best time to catch the Perseids. One can watch around 70–80 meteors per hour during the peak of the Perseids this year.
A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the debris trail left behind by the parent body, i.e., an asteroid or a comet, when it approaches the Sun.
Every meteor shower has a different parent body, and the meteor shower is named based on the constellation in which the radiant point (a radiant point is a point in the sky from which meteors seem to originate) is located. The parent body of the Perseids is Comet 109/P Swift Tuttle, and the radiant point of the Perseid meteor shower lies in the constellation Perseus.
