Meteor over West Virginia | NASA

Meteor over West Virginia | NASA

In this 30-second exposure photograph, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers, Sunday, August 3, 2025, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. 

The Perseids meteor shower peaks in mid-August, and is the most popular meteor shower of the year.

Perseids: Fast Facts

Comet of Origin: 109P/Swift-Tuttle

Radiant Constellation: Perseus

Active: July 17 to Aug. 23, 2025 (Peak night: Aug. 12-13)

Observed Under Dark Skies: About 25 meteors per hour

Meteor Velocity: 37 miles (59 km) per second

The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is active annually from July 3 to August 15, with its peak activity typically occurring around July 30. Currently, the shower is active. The radiant, the point in the sky where the meteors appear to originate, is located in the constellation Capricornus. This shower is visible from the Earth's northern and southern hemispheres. 

The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is considered a bright one and is known for producing up to 5 meteors per hour (ZHR) at its peak. The meteors from this shower strike the atmosphere at an average speed of 23 km/s. The parent body responsible for creating the debris that leads to the Alpha Capricornids shower is the periodic comet 169P/NEAT.

West Virginia is a mountainous state in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the 12th-least populous state

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Date: Aug. 3, 2025

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