We’ve scoured the heavens and charted a course through the cosmos, bringing you the ultimate guide to 2024’s meteor showers in Western Australia.
We’ll tell you which showers ignite the sky with blazing brilliance, which ones offer a serene twinkle, and most importantly, which ones are absolutely worth setting your alarm for (and which ones maybe deserve a snooze button tap).
So, grab your star charts, pack your sense of wonder, and get ready to embark on a celestial adventure. Join us as we decode the cosmic calendar, revealing the peak dates, predicted rates, and the all-important “get out of bed” factor for each meteor shower. From the fiery Perseids to the graceful Geminids, buckle up as we explore the best shows the universe has in store for West Aussie sky gazers.
1. The Lyrids Meteor Shower
What to expect: Up to 18 meteors per hour with rare surges.
Brightness: The Lyrids are known for their fast and bright meteors, with occasional fireballs
Speed: The Lyrids are medium-pace meteors, reaching about 45km/s
Where to look: Meteors seem to come from the constellation of Lyra, the harp
Moon phase: Stay in bed! The Moon will be close to full brightness, so you’re unlikely to see many
2. The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
What to expect: Up to 40 meteors per hour
Brightness: The Eta Aquarids meteor shower can produce long-lived meteors with glowing tails
Speed:The Eta Aquarids are famously speedy space rocks, with meteors travelling at about 66 km/s
Where to look: The meteor showers appears to come from the star Eta Aquarii, in the constellation of Aquarius the Water Bearer
Moon phase: It’s definitely worth getting out of bed this one! It’s New Moon time, and the sky will be dark. But wait until 2am when the meteor shower is above the horizon
3. The Southern Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower
What to expect: An average of 20 fairly faint meteors per hour
Brightness: The Southern Delta Aquarids are notoriously faint so make the most of it and go somewhere with dark skies.
Speed: The Southern Delta Aquarids are a very leisurely meteor shower, happy to sit in the middle lane at around 40km/s.
Where to look: Like the Eta Aquarids (the names Eta and Delta are just given to tell the two apart) meteors seem to emerge from the constellation of Aquarius.
Moon phase: With the moon in its third quarter, the skies are almost at their darkest.
4. The Perseids Meteor Shower
Best viewing: The Perseids meteor shower peaks on August 12 2024, and you’ll have a short window between 04:45 and dawn at 06:30 AWST so don’t hang about.
What to expect: Between 60 and 100 meteors an hour in perfect conditions.
Brightness: The Perseids are one of the brightest meteor showers of the year.
Speed: The Perseids meteor shower is one of the faster ones, hitting around 60km/s.
Where to look: The meteors seem to emerge from the constellation of Perseus, near Andromeda.
Moon phase: The Moon is in its first quarter: but don’t worry, it will have set long before the 2024 Perseids meteor shower peaks on August 12. Rug up warm and get up for this one.
5. The Orionids Meteor Shower
Best viewing: The Orionids meteor shower peaks on October 21 2024, with the best viewing before dawn.
What to expect: An average of 10 to 20 yellowish-green meteors per hour.
Brightness: The Orionid meteor shower can be a little faint but the meteors sometimes leave persistent trails.
Speed: The Orionids are extremely fast, hitting Earth’s atmosphere at whopping speeds of around 66km/s.
Where to look: The meteors seem to emerge from the constellation of Orion.
Moon phase: Hit the snooze button and stay in bed. it’s a full Moon this year which means poor visibility for spotting shooting stars during the 2024 Orionid meteor shower.
6. The Geminids Meteor Shower
What to expect: An average of 50 bright white meteors an hour.
Brightness: The Geminids are famoulsy bold and bright meteors.
Speed: The Geminids are pretty lazy meteors, only clocking in at speeds of around 35 km/s.
Where to look: The Geminid meteors seem to emerge from the constellation of Gemini.
Moon phase: It’s not worth getting out of bed for the 2024 Geminid meteor shower because the Moon is only one day away from full at the shower’s peak. The Moon’s brightness will wash out but the brightest meteors.
Where are the best places to see meteor showers?
You’ll need a nice dark sky location and there are some super suggestions on the Astrotourism WA website.
Growing up, I had a head full of stories and a burning desire to write them all down. Nothing much has changed: I still love telling stories. I have a passion for stargazing and astronomy, and enjoy any opportunity to share stories or pass on what I know.
