Heads up stargazers! The September Epsilon Perseids meteor shower peaks predawn on Sept. 9. Here's what you need to know about this annual shower to increase your chances of seeing one of its rare shooting stars.
Not to be confused with the more well-known Perseid meteor shower that peaks in August each year, the September Epsilon Perseids are active between Sept. 5 to Sept. 21 as Earth passes through the trail of debris left behind by an unknown solar system comet. The cometary shards that collide with Earth's atmosphere are quickly vaporized by the friction of atmospheric entry, creating short-lived fiery displays known to us as "shooting stars".
In 2025, the September Epsilon Perseid meteor shower will peak at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Sept. 9, when up to five shooting stars associated with the shower may be visible per hour, according to in-the-sky.org. The shower will crescendo under the reflected brilliance of a near-full waning crescent moon, the light from which may obscure fainter shooting stars, reducing the overall number of meteors that can be seen.
Shooting stars associated with the shower will appear to emanate from a point in the sky located in the constellation Perseus, close to the bright star Algol, which can be pinpointed with the help of a smartphone astronomy app.
The best time to view the shower is in the hours preceding dawn on Sept. 9, when this point of origin — known as a radiant — can be found high overhead in the late summer sky. However, members of the shower may be seen anytime the radiant is above the horizon after dark — less than an hour after sunset for viewers in New York.
Stargazers hoping to see meteors with the longest tails should allow 30 minutes for their eyes to adjust to the dark and stare into a patch of sky roughly 40 degrees away from the radiant. Remember, the width of your clenched fist held at arms length is the equivalent to approximately 10 degrees of sky!
Photographers interested in capturing the shower should read our guide to imaging shooting stars and check out our roundup of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.
Editor's note: If you catch a photo of a meteor and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
