97 Perseid Meteor Shower 2026 Trivia Questions with Answers
97 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
How long does totality last at the point of greatest duration during the August 12, 2026 eclipse near the 2026 Perseids?
Answer
2 minutes 18.2 seconds
Who rediscovered Comet Swift–Tuttle in 1992, the parent comet of the 2026 Perseid meteor shower?
Answer
Tsuruhiko Kiuchi
Which two astronomers independently discovered Comet Swift–Tuttle, source of the 2026 Perseid meteor shower?
Answer
Lewis Swift and Horace Parnell Tuttle
How far along Earth’s orbit does the Perseid cloud extend near the 2026 encounter?
Answer
About 0.8 astronomical units
How wide is the Perseid debris cloud near Earth’s orbit in the 2026 shower’s source stream?
Answer
About 0.1 astronomical units
In which two calendar months is the 2026 Perseid meteor shower usually active?
Answer
July and August
Which hemisphere generally offers the best view of the 2026 Perseid meteor shower?
Answer
Northern Hemisphere
What does ZHR mean when describing the 2026 Perseid meteor shower?
Answer
Zenithal Hourly Rate
Under ideal dark-sky conditions, what is the 2026 Perseid meteor shower’s approximate peak ZHR?
Answer
100 meteors per hour
Which astronomer identified Comet Swift–Tuttle as the source of the Perseid meteor shower in 1865?
Answer
Giovanni Schiaparelli
How wide is Comet Swift–Tuttle’s nucleus, the source of the 2026 Perseids?
Answer
26 kilometers
What type of solar eclipse occurs on August 12, 2026, the day the Perseids peak?
Answer
Total solar eclipse
Who predicted a Perseid peak in 1836 after studying historical records?
Answer
Adolphe Quetelet
What traditional nickname is associated with the Perseid meteor shower around Saint Lawrence’s feast day?
Answer
Tears of Saint Lawrence
Which meteor-shower type is the 2026 Perseid display: an annual shower or a one-time event?
Answer
Annual meteor shower
What is the official comet designation of the Perseid parent comet in 2026?
Answer
109P/Swift–Tuttle
How fast do Perseid meteors travel when they enter Earth’s atmosphere?
Answer
About 59 km/s
What lunar phase accompanies the 2026 Perseid peak on August 12?
Answer
New Moon
On which nights does the 2026 Perseid meteor shower reach its peak?
Answer
August 12–13
For the 2026 Perseid meteor shower, which comet supplies the debris that creates it?
Answer
109P/Swift–Tuttle