Look up: Super moon and meteor shower both happening Sunday
Get ready for a show in the sky on Sunday, when a meteor shower and super moon will both light up the Northern Hemisphere.
The annual Perseid meteor shower could entertain us with as many as 100 shooting stars an hour; it's expected to peak between Aug. 10 and 13, then last for one week. The Perseid shower is created when debris from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet hits the Earth's atmosphere. The super moon, which happens four to six times a year, occurs when the moon is 30,000 miles closer to Earth than usual.
Astronomer Tony Berendsen told ABC News that the best time to see the showers is at 2 a.m. "Because the moon will be incredibly bright in the earlier evening, the smaller showers will not be a match," he said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Viewing the meteor shower doesn't require any fancy equipment, Berendsen said. "All you need is your eyes."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
