Michigan’s Two Summer Meteor Showers Start This Week

Last week, I wrote an article about two places near Grand Rapids that offer fantastic views of the night sky without requiring a trip to the middle of nowhere to escape light pollution. While a lovely starry sky is always a great view, your viewing experience is infinitely more captivating when a celestial event is taking place.

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What do I mean by a celestial event? How about a meteor shower, when the night sky is full of shooting stars? That's what most of Michigan can experience for the next month as two meteor showers, including the "biggest astronomical events of the year", will grace the sky to round out the summer.

Shooting Stars Aren't Stars

While the highlight of a meteor shower is seeing a shooting star, stars aren't really falling from the sky. Instead, it's a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere and burning up, rarely reaching the ground. This is still a beautiful event to watch, and the first ones of the summer will start this weekend.

READ MORE: Michigan’s Summer Sunset Times You Need to Know

The best time to watch any meteor shower is after midnight or just before dawn when the moon has set.

The Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower

The Delta Aquariids are set to begin on July 18 and continue through August 12.  Typically, there are 7-8 meteors/hr, with the peak night taking place on July 29th-30th. However, this meteor shower pales in comparison to the other summer shower that starts at a similar time but peaks later in August.

The Perseids Meteor Shower

The real prize of summer is the Perseids Meteor Shower from July 17 through August 23rd, peaking on August 12-13th. The Perseid meteor shower is widely regarded as one of the best showers of the year, averaging around 25 meteors/hr, though on peak nights it can reach 50 to 100 meteors per hour.

To see the dates of every meteor shower in Michigan this year, take a look below.