Perseids Meteor Shower Radiant
In July there are three minor meteor showers and a major meteor shower. July starts a period of usually heroic summer meteor shower events. The most notable meteor shower of July, the Perseids, starts July 17th and will peak in mid August. In the chart below you will notice the column entitled ZHR. ZHR stands for Zenith Hourly Rate and is defined as the amount of meteors a viewer could witness in one hour with a clear dark sky. This number is based on the radiant being inside the zenith and the strength of the meteor shower, however the closer radiant is to the horizon and the farther from the zenith the less the ZHR or meteors one will be able to see.
I apologize if the terms in this Meteor Blog article have confused you a little bit, there is no need to worry you can check out my Meteor Glossary and Terms Page for some more information. If you need additional information about observing a meteor shower you can visit my Meteor Shower Viewing Page, there is some really helpful information there.
| Meteor Shower | Start | Maximum | End | ZHR |
| Piscis Austrinids | July 15 | July 28 | August 10 | 5 |
| South Aquariids | July 12 | July 28 | August 19 | 16 |
| Capricornids | July 3 | July 30 | August 15 | 5 |
| Perseids | July 17 | August 12 | August 24 | 100 |
In the next few weeks I will be providing readers with meteor shower facts and predictions as well as some great articles to educate you about what could be the greatest meteor shower of 2010, the Perseids! In the meantime, bookmark the site, join the newsletter and keep your head up!
- Meteor Mark
on Jul 6th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Definitely a hero in my book~
on Jul 12th, 2010 at 11:37 pm
July 12, 2010… I was watering the lawn at 10pm and noticed a huge fireball in the sky. It was very fast moving and lasted for my view about approx. 30 seconds. I called my girlfriend out to observe it. About an hour later 3 at once shooting across the sky here in Indianapolis, IN. Very moving experience, I have never seen anything like it in my life. Any info on exactly what I was observing?
on Jul 12th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Rick,
Sounds like a meteor/fireball, I would have to be there to have seen it. It’s possible that because of your comment some others who have seen the fireball will respond here. That may help both of us to receive more insight as to what it was.
Keep your head up.
-Meteor Mark
RE: Indianapolis, IN Meteor Fireball Sighting.
on Jul 19th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
On July 15th I was on a cruise with my family heading towards Belize. That night we saw a huge fireball in the sky!! It was awesome! It actually burned out and then fired back up again for a very short period. You could see a fog in the area of the fireball after it had gone. I called guest services and asked them if they could find out what it was, they stated that no one else saw it that night. I can’t believe the captain didn’t see it, so I don’t think they really asked!
on Jul 19th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Kim,
Sounds awesome. A lot of meteors go unseen!
- Meteor Mark