The meteors are coming, the meteors are coming! What am I talking about? The Perseid Meteor showers of course. That's right, the Perseid Meteor Showers will soon be lighting up the night sky. It's a great excuse for your family to get outside and enjoy the night sky. The Perseid Meteor shower will peak late in the evening of August 11, 2024 till just before morning twilight on August 12, 2024, with clear skies expect pretty good viewing a few days before and after the peak as well. Be sure to save the date for this annual favorite and be ready to gather your family, head outside and watch nature's celestial magic at it's best.
Who's up for a spontaneous science lesson under the stars?
Now, let's take a moment to appreciate our incredible luck nestled in the heart of the Conejo Valley, Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake Village. Why, you ask? Because we're sitting in a pretty prime spot where we don't need to embark on a long journey to escape the bright lights and bask in the awesome Perseids. Believe it or not, you're likely a mere 5 or 10-minute drive – if even that – to find a haven of darkness, the perfect stage for this annual cosmic spectacle.
I hear that one of the top places to watch the Perseids is right here in our own back yard in the Santa Monica Mountains. You may find this light pollution map helpful in finding the darkest sky. So why not treat your kids to a front-row seat in nature's very own cosmic theater? The Perseids await, and they're not holding back! Another SoCal favorite if your up for a road trip is in Joshua Tree National Park, please plan ahead as this is a very popular spot so expect a lot of traffic delays.
The Perseids can be seen every year staring mid-July through September 1st. Typically, the Perseid meteor shower peaks for us Earthbound viewers on August 11, 12 and 13.
Where to watch the Perseids meteor shower locally near the Conejo Valley, Malibu, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Westlake Village and Newbury Park:
- Santa Monica Mountains: Known to be a great viewing option.
- Griffith Observatory No events scheduled, but their website can be a great local resource.
Fun facts about the Perseid meteor showers
If you have curious kids like mine, they'll want to know exactly what they're looking at and will have a lot of questions. Impress your kids with your vast knowledge of the universe with these five fun facts from Astronomy.com:
- The Perseids are caused by a giant comet 109P / Swift-Tuttle, which left a wide stream of debris in its wake. Earth is passing through that debris. But don't worry – they're small pieces, each about the size of a grain of sand, so they won't hurt us.
- Mid-August is the peak of the Perseids because we will be passing through the densest portion of the debris.
- We see the "shooting stars" - that aren't really stars - when the tiny pieces of dirt and dust hit our atmosphere at a high speed and make a flash of light when they burn up.
- During most nights of the Perseids, you might be lucky enough to see a dozen or two meteors an hour. But during the peak nights, you can expect to see 50-70 per hour, depending on how dark it is around you!
- It's called the Perseid meteor shower because the meteors look like they are coming from the constellation Perseus.
How to see the free show
Where do you look for these little falling balls of light? Just look up! There's not one particular direction to look, but east right before sunrise when the moon is low in the sky will give you the best luck.
The really cool part is you don't need special equipment to see the Perseid meteor showers In fact, it's easier to view it with your naked eye than through the limited lens of a telescope or binoculars.
Bonus: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can all be seen during August. You can read more about spotting them.
The best way to view the Perseids is when the sky is clear and dark and you're away from a lot of light. We're pretty lucky to have so many dark sky viewing options in the Conejo Valley, Malibu and Calabasas like the Santa Monica Mountains. Grab a blanket - lying down gives you the widest view of the sky, then find a safe place to watch and have a blast making memories with your kids. Maybe even bring some snacks if you plan to make a night of it.
Want to learn more?
You can find out more about the Perseid meteor shower plus all kinds of other cool sky and space related topics at:
- NASA Space News - YouTube
- JPL Night Sky Network
- American Meteor Society
- Ventura County Astronomical Society
- Spaceweather
- Space
- Astronomy
- EarthSky
- Almanac
- Perseid meteor shower 2023 amazing photos
 photocluster via Canva |
One of my favorite memories of growing up on a farm in Wisconsin was the view of the night sky. We could see so many stars away from city lights. Every so often we would get lucky enough to see a shooting star. Now we live close to town and it's harder to see what's up there after dark. But this time of year is always an exception because of the Perseid meteor shower! Laura Miller is the publisher of Macaroni KID Appleton-Waupaca-Oshkosh, Wisc.
Updated / edited annually by Macaroni KID Conejo Valley - Malibu - Calabasas
