View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Coombs in Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada, captured this photo of a fireball on August 12, 2021. He wrote: “2 Perseids in 1 shot and 1 is a fireball. Went up to Upper Pahranagat Lake in hopes of getting a couple shots of the Perseids. With thunderstorms building all day, I wasn’t very hopeful. Clouds were rolling through all night, but there were clearings here and there. Just as the clouds were coming back I got to see this.” Thank you, Joel!
Enjoy these Perseid photos!
2021 has been a fabulous year for the beloved Perseid meteor shower. No matter where you live worldwide, the peak mornings of the shower are likely August 11, 12, and 13. On the peak mornings in 2021 – in the early morning hours, when the most meteors will be flying – there’ll be no moon to ruin the show. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy this shower. And here are a few of our favorite Perseid photos, of the many rolling in this week at EarthSky Community Photos. Thank you to all who are contributing photos! Submit your meteor photo here.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Ryan in Point Judith, Rhode Island, captured this photo of a Perseid with the Milky Way on August 13, 2021, and wrote: “A single Perseid Meteor along side the Milky Way.” Thank you, Peter!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Miguel Sala in Moya, Cuenca, Spain, captured this photo of multiple Perseids that can be traced to their radiant on August 13, 2021, and wrote: “In this photograph I wanted to visualize the ‘radiant’, the point from which the Perseids seem to come […] To get this, I left the camera shooting pictures every 2 seconds for 2 hours. Thus, I was able to capture some meteors in 12 of them.” Thank you, Miguel!Stephen Hummel caught this photo on August 8, 2021. He wrote: “A Perseid meteor pierced through our atmosphere at the same moment a large lightning sprite appeared over Sonora, Mexico. Meteors and sprites occur at roughly the same altitude. The distance to the sprite is roughly 300 miles [500 km] and was generated by a 48kA positive lightning strike. The distance to the meteor is unknown. Probably my luckiest capture yet!” Stephen shared this photo via McDonald Observatory in West Texas. He’s an expert at capturing lightning sprites. See another cool sprite photo from Stephen.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Matthew Chin in Yuen Long, Hong Kong, captured this photo of a meteor on August 13, 2021. He wrote: “Perseid meteor, in Hong Kong.” Thank you, Matthew!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jose Lagos in Vaals, Netherlands, captured this photo of a meteor on August 13, 2021. He wrote: “Hunting for a nice photo of a Perseid meteor, I just kept hitting the button in 15-second increments, hoping that, despite the clouds, I would get lucky with the timing and capture something worth sharing. To tell the truth, I did not see the fireball happen with my own eyes, as I was looking all around, and it happened so fast. Luckily, the long exposure time of the shot made sure to capture one of the many beautiful fireballs, and even a few bolides that I was able to see with my own eyes from around 1 to 4 am. It was well worth the wait, and I recommend a little blind faith in your camera – just keep hitting the button and trust that, when you review all the shots later, it will indeed be your lucky day! Many thanks to all at EarthSky for the wonderful platform and information that you provide for us all around the world. Your work is not in vain and much appreciated.” Thank you, Jose!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Terence Reis in Waipahu, Hawaii, captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. He wrote: “Clear skies provided excellent viewing of the 2021 Perseids here in Hawaii!” Thank you, Terence!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Abhijit Patil in Lincoln, New Hampshire, captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. Abhijit wrote: “I went out to photograph the Perseid meteor shower and the final shot was the one that I had planned in mind. But when I reached this place it was pretty evident that it would rain and get cloudy. I snapped the foreground and started roaming around to find a place with clear skies (or even partly) so that I can capture some meteors. I finally reached a lake in Sanborton where I set up both my cameras and captured a couple fireballs and a few small ones in spaces of open sky. Rest of the sky was still partly cloudy. I put my vision to life in Photoshop.” Thank you, Abhijit!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Matt Lantz in Cranfills Gap, Texas, captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. He wrote: “I’ve been wanting to take photos at and around this church for years and I thought the Perseids would be the perfect occasion for a visit. It did not disappoint! While most of the brightest meteors occurred out of frame (don’t they always?!), it was still a beautiful night to take in the shower with lots of other photographer friends.” Thank you, Matt!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Wendy Miller in Temecula, California, captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. She wrote: “Perseid meteor over my neighbor’s house in Temecula, California.” Thank you, Wendy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. He wrote: “Here’s a photo of a bright Perseid meteor I caught streaking across the sky last night. This meteor sported a brilliant green hue and even left a faint persistent train.” Thank you, Joel!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Dave Corkish on the Isle of Man captured this photo of a meteor on August 12, 2021. He wrote: “Taken from Peel, Isle of Man, looking north just after midnight.” Thank you, Dave!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Terhune in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, captured this photo of a meteor on August 13, 2021. He wrote: “My camera caught this Perseid meteor about 2 am. It was also a beautiful sight to the eye!” Thank you, Michael!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Gary Hug in Scranton, Kansas, captured this photo of a meteor on August 11, 2021. He wrote: “The field of view was 26.4 x 17.6 degrees, so a fairly narrow field for meteors. The asterism called the ‘Coathanger’ is just below center. The 4-minute image was tracked via A StarSync Tracker.” Thank you, Gary!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jason Reynolds in Asheville, North Carolina, captured this photo of a meteor on August 11, 2021. He wrote: “I am unsure whether this is a Perseid or a Delta Aquariid, but it is the second-largest meteor I’ve captured an image of (first being what became an EarthSky photo of the day from last year’s Leonid meteor shower). You can see some clouds in this image, and they are going to get thicker where I am over the next few days, so I am glad I spent an hour outside early this morning to observe and photograph the meteor shower, and particularly grateful for this little gift from the universe.” Thank you, Jason!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cristina Dachnowska in Turinsky Lake, Stredocesky, Czechia, captured this photo of the Milky Way and meteors on August 10, 2021. She wrote: “Taken last night while on a night walk. Perseids, as usual, did not disappoint :).” Thank you, Cristina!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jose Zarcos Palma in Mina São Domingos, DarkSky Mertola, Portugal, captured this photo of meteors on August 8, 2021. He wrote: “Perseids are now everywhere in the night sky … Meteors appear all over the sky and in this pre-peak night, the challenge was to catch a few fireballs near the Milky Way, in the opposite direction of the radiant. Here they are, after 733 shots I managed to catch 5 fireballs displayed as they appear in the sky with no geometric correction … What a night.” Thank you, Jose!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky friend Mike Cohea caught this meteor near Sisters, Oregon, on August 7, 2021. View it larger to see how colorful it is. The Perseids are known for their colors. Mike wrote: “A large and vibrant Perseid meteor streaks through the night sky above the volcanic peaks of the Three Sisters in the central Oregon Cascade Mountains as the Milky Way looms bright.” Thank you, Mike!
Bottom line: The 2021 Perseid meteor shower is expected to produce the most meteors in the predawn hours of August 11, 12, and 13, in a dark, moonless sky. Enjoy these Perseid meteor photos from the EarthSky Community.
Lia De La Cruz is a journalist based in Southern California. She joined EarthSky in September 2020, with previous writing published in outlets including SkyFeed, Smore Magazine, and Bang It Out on Science. In her free time, she enjoys reading and volunteering.
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