The Perseid meteor shower peaks in the early-morning hours. This is the finest meteor shower of the year for northern stargazers, with 40-60 meteors per hour visible at the peak in the hours before dawn on August 13. Once called the Tears of St. Lawrence, this meteor shower occurs as the Earth moves through a stream of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.
This first image, captured about 2:00 a.m. on the morning of August 12, features the Milky Way and Jupiter setting just to the south of Santiago Peak, with three visible meteors, captured on a Canon 5D MkII with a 14mm lens, ISO 3200, 20 seconds @ f/2.8.
This year, the Moon is at third-quarter, not ideal for seeing the faintest meteors, but get started watching before midnight, away from city lights, and you will be rewarded with a bright meteor every few minutes or so.
Three metors above Santiago Peak, looking southwest about 2:30 a.m. Camera Canon 5D MkII, ISO 3200, 20 seconds @ f/2.8, 14mm lens.
The Perseids are also a long-lasting show, running from July 17 through August 25. So if you miss the peak, you still have a good chance to see some meteors.
Moon beginning to rise in the east, causing the Milky Way to face slightly and illuminate Santiago Peak and the Santiago Mountains with three meteors visible.The light on the horizon, as well as on the mountains is not from sunrise, nor from sunset, but from moonrise, even though the moon is in its third quarter. Imagine the brightness if it had been a full moon. These images were from a Canon 6D, 14mm lens, ISO 3200, 20 seconds @ f/2.8.
So far this month, August 2020, we’ve been treated to Comet Neowise, Perseid meteor shower, and a bright planetary show of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. In these times, there are still lots of reasons to be thankful for the world, and universe, around us.
Photography and Travel, specifically adventure travel and backpacking in remote North America, give me an excuse to stay outside. If kayaks, bikes, backpacks, Jeeps, archeology, geology and wildlife can be included, all the better. Having spent my life working in the fashion and photography industries, I love the unusual, the spectacular, and the beautiful. God has given us a wonderful world in which to live, and I try to open others’ eyes to its wonders. I have shared nearly 50 years of this indescribable wonder with my wife, Jodie, and we go everywhere together. I hope you will share some of our journey with us.
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3 thoughts on “The Perseid Meteor Shower”
Very nice, Bob. Between a lack of dark skies and lack of sky at all with night cloudiness I haven’t seen the meteors but glad to enjoy them through your images.
I knew you’d be out there. The dark sky images are wonderful, but I do like that moonrise. You’re certainly right about the brightness of a full moon. I’ve spent some night watches reading in the cockpit under a full moon: no other light needed. On the other hand, the new moon revealed another surprise for this land-dweller the first time I was offshore. Starlight’s a real thing, too. Absent the moon, the light of the stars is far brighter than I’d ever imagined.
Starlight is bright enough to cast distinct shadows that you would think would be Moonshadows, if you’re in a really dark place in your eyes get adjusted. It’s amazing. People would not believe it unless they’ve actually seen it like you have.
texasflashdude 
Very nice, Bob. Between a lack of dark skies and lack of sky at all with night cloudiness I haven’t seen the meteors but glad to enjoy them through your images.
I knew you’d be out there. The dark sky images are wonderful, but I do like that moonrise. You’re certainly right about the brightness of a full moon. I’ve spent some night watches reading in the cockpit under a full moon: no other light needed. On the other hand, the new moon revealed another surprise for this land-dweller the first time I was offshore. Starlight’s a real thing, too. Absent the moon, the light of the stars is far brighter than I’d ever imagined.
Starlight is bright enough to cast distinct shadows that you would think would be Moonshadows, if you’re in a really dark place in your eyes get adjusted. It’s amazing. People would not believe it unless they’ve actually seen it like you have.