Perseids Meteor Shower in New Zealand

The Perseids are the most famous meteor shower in the Northern Hemisphere — but they are a Northern Hemisphere show, and from New Zealand they are almost entirely out of reach. The radiant sits high above the equator in August, which in Southern Hemisphere terms means deep below the northern horizon. A Northland observer on the right night might catch a handful of earthgrazers skimming across the sky, but from most of New Zealand the Perseids are effectively invisible.

When to watch the Perseids

The Perseids peak on the night of 12–13 August each year, with activity running from about 17 July to 24 August. Worldwide, at peak from a Northern Hemisphere dark site, rates reach 100 or more meteors an hour. From New Zealand, realistic expectations are a few earthgrazers on peak night — at best — with nothing at all from most of the country.

Where to look from New Zealand

Look low in the north between 3 am and dawn. The radiant is in the constellation Perseus, which from NZ sits below the northern horizon all night. The only Perseid meteors visible from New Zealand are earthgrazers — long, slow streaks travelling nearly horizontally across the sky as meteors enter the atmosphere at a very shallow angle. These are rare but spectacular when they appear.

How to get the best view

• Set realistic expectations. This is a Northern Hemisphere shower — you are not going to see '100 an hour' from New Zealand.
• The further north in New Zealand you are, the better. Northland is your best shot; from Wellington south, expect nothing.
• Go to a north-facing coastal site with a dead-flat horizon. Earthgrazers travel low and parallel to the ground.
• Watch in the pre-dawn hours — around 4 am is when the radiant is closest to rising.
• Dark-adapt for 20 minutes, stay off your phone, and dress for a winter night.
• An earthgrazer lasts several seconds — much longer than a typical meteor — so patience pays off.
• If you want August meteors from New Zealand, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are still active and much better placed — the tool above covers viewing for those too.

What causes the Perseids

The Perseids come from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, a large comet on a 133-year orbit that last passed through the inner solar system in 1992 and is next due in 2126. Swift-Tuttle is one of the largest known objects that crosses Earth's orbit — about 26 kilometres across — and it sheds enormous quantities of dust that have been building up the Perseid stream for thousands of years. The same richness that makes the shower spectacular from the Northern Hemisphere makes its Southern Hemisphere invisibility particularly frustrating.

The meteors themselves

Perseid meteors hit the atmosphere at about 59 kilometres per second — fast enough to leave glowing trails and produce a healthy proportion of fireballs. From a Northern Hemisphere dark site at peak, rates of 100 an hour are routine. From New Zealand, any Perseid you see will be an earthgrazer crossing low in the northern sky — rare, but striking when they come.

Forecast for your night

Use the live viewing panel at the top of this page to see whether the sky will be clear where you are. For the full night-by-night cloud, Moon and darkness forecast across every New Zealand region, visit the New Zealand Stargazing Forecast.