How to catch a meteor shower with your family - Parents' Toolkit

You might remember as a child being up past bedtime, or on a night time drive, and having a chance encounter with a shooting star - something you possibly remember as a special moment. Many of us go years without seeing another! But, did you know that, with a bit of planning and prediction, you have a good chance of seeing a whole shower of them…

This guide, created in partnership with the , gives you and your child the best chance of seeing a meteor (or two!) crashing through our atmosphere…

Check out more activity ideas and quizzes from Parents' Toolkit, to help you become your family's guide to nature over the holidays.

Image caption,
A meteor caught on camera over the Hampshire coast

Top tips for seeing a meteor shower

If you live in a city or light polluted area, try and head out to a dark sky area. That could be a local outdoor space without lighting or a national park further away. If you can’t get away but have garden, try to switch off any unnecessary lights!
Pick a location without too many buildings or tall trees, where you and your child can see as much of the sky as possible.
Check the phase of the Moon on your chosen night – moonlight, especially when the Moon is at a quarter phase or greater, can dampen your viewing experience just as any bright light would.
Spend 30 minutes getting your eyes adjusted to the dark – don’t look at mobile phone or tablet screens. As your eyes become adjusted to the darkness, you’ll find that you’re able to spot fainter objects.
Meteor spotting requires patience – many people spend hours outside trying to catch a glimpse of a shooting star (and it’s worth it when you see one). Make sure you have blanket or a reclining chair to keep the family comfortable!
Don’t use binoculars or a telescope – the only tools you need are your eyes. Meteors streak very quickly across the sky and can appear in lots of different directions so looking through binoculars or a telescope will only restrict how much of the sky you can see. Blink and you might miss it!

When's the best time to see a meteor shower?

You might think that seeing a meteor is a game of pure chance on any given night, however, there are annual meteor showers, which are relatively easy to predict and will often provide many meteors every hour.

Use the guide below to plan a stargazing evening this summer. Fingers crossed for a clear sky!

Along with the name of the annual shower, you can see the 'radiant', which is the point within a constellation where the meteor shower will appear to radiate from in the night sky. For example, the annual 'Perseid' meteor shower in August will radiate out from Perseus. Use a star app, or plan your observation beforehand to make sure that you're facing in the right direction…

Meteor shower	Radiant (constellation)	Peak activity time/date	Peak activity rate (meteors per hour)	Other info
Quadrantids	Bootes	Early January	120	Bluish- or yellowish-white meteors with fine trains
Lyrids	Lyra	Late April	10-20	Bright fast meteors, some with trains.
Eta Aquariids	Aquarius	Early May	20-60	Short, swift streaks, producing long trains.
Delta Aquariids	Aquarius	Late July	20
Perseids	Perseus	Mid-August	90-100	Many bright, fast meteors with trails
Draconids	Draco	Early October	10	In rare instances, there have been many hundreds of meteors per hour
Orionids	Orion	Late October	10-20	Fast with fine trains.
Taurids	Taurus	Mid-November	5	Very slow meteors.
Leonids	Leo	Mid-November	10	Bright meteors with a high percentage of persistent trains.
Geminids	Gemini	Mid-December	120-150	Plenty of bright, intensely coloured meteors, but aren't likely to produce long trails.
Ursids	Ursa Minor	Late December	10

You can often find which specific night to expect these showers closer to the day, so be sure to keep an eye out online!

Even during the summer months, it can still get cold outside so make sure to have a hot drink and have extra layers to hand to keep yourself warm.

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