See it: Fireball over Puerto Rico steals show from Perseid meteor shower

Fireball blasts across night sky in Puerto Rico

An astrophotographer in Puerto Rico captured this stray fireball while hoping to spot the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 11. 

CABO ROJO, Puerto Rico – A photographer waiting to see the ongoing Perseid meteor shower was caught by surprise when a stray fireball came zooming across the night sky.

Puerto Rico researcher and photographer Frankie Lucena said he was hoping to spot some Perseids over Cabo Rojo in the pre-dawn hours Monday when a bright fireball shot across his field of view.

The Perseid meteor shower is underway, and the peak happens from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

"This fireball appeared while I was trying to record Perseid meteors," Lucena told Storyful. Because the fireball’s trajectory was not the same as the Perseid meteor shower, Lucena said, "it is considered a stray."

A fireball over Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico on Aug. 11, 2025. 

This dependable meteor shower comes from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and produces about 25 meteors per hour. Under dark skies, between 50 and 100 meteors per hour are visible, according to NASA.

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However, a dark sky is key, and if the Moon is full it’s extremely hard to spot these meteors. This year, the Perseids' most active nights happen less than a week after the full Moon, likely washing out the best meteor shower of the summer, with only the brightest meteors visible. 

FILE PHOTO: This image composite from July 30, 2014, shows 14 bright meteors seen from Huntsville, Alabama, and includes Southern Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricornids and the Perseids.

(NASA/MSFC/MEO / NASA)

If you're hoping to spot the Perseids, in spite of the Moon, move away from city lights and find a good dark sky location. 

The Perseid meteor shower continues through Aug. 24.