Why not try your luck in late August and try to spot a rare Aurigid shooting star as the shower comes to a peak later this weekend?
The Aurigid meteor shower takes place each year as Earth travels through the tenuous debris trail shed by the long-period comet C/1911 N1 Kiess, which is thought to have last travelled through the inner solar system some 2,000 years ago.
In 2025, the Aurigid meteor shower is active from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 and reaches its peak at 11:00 p.m. EDT on Aug. 31 (0300 GMT). At this time, up to six shooting stars could be visible per hour, according to in-the-sky.org, though Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society cautions that the shower may produce only one meteor per hour.
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Meteors belonging to the shower will appear to streak away from a point of origin known as a ‘radiant’ located close to the magnitude +2.6 star theta Aurigae, in the constellation Auriga. The best time for stargazers in the U.S. to hunt for Aurigids will be in the hours preceding dawn on Sept. 1, when the radiant will be at its highest in the eastern sky, maximizing the amount of shooting stars that may be seen.
As with any meteor shower it’s best not to look directly in the direction of the radiant. Instead, find a point roughly 40 degrees above theta Aurigae — which you can find with the aid of a smartphone astronomy app — in the direction of your local zenith, which is the point directly above you. Remember, the width of your fist held at arm’s length is the equivalent of 10 degrees of sky.
Related: Meteor showers 2025: When, where and how to see the best ‘shooting stars’ of the year.
Photographers interested in capturing shooting stars should read our handy guide to photographing meteor showers, along with the best cameras and lenses for imaging the night sky.
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