Next Meteor Showers to Look for in Washington, Oregon, Coastlines. And What's Up with That Asteroid

Published 02/16/25 at 10:49 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Pacific City, Oregon) – What are the next meteor showers coming up in winter / spring of 2025? What will Oregon, Washington and its coastlines get to see? (Photo here is of Manzanita on the Oregon coast with a meteor from Oregon Coast Beach Connection, while inset shot is of a meteor shower from NASA/MSFC/Danielle Moser.)

And what about that kooky asteroid everyone has been talking about: will that actually smack into Earth?

Then there's that illusive zodiacal light - the "cone of light" most people never see. It's coming in the spring.

The rest of February and March along the coastlines and inland Washington and Oregon won't see much in terms of shooting stars, although there a few smaller meteor showers happening between now and April. Currently, there's about three very minor ones winding down, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).

The big ones coming up are in the spring and in April. That is one of the best times to visit the Washington coast or Oregon coast, as it's fairly dead out there. However, weather is far from cooperative on the beaches at this time of year, so those living inland around Seattle, Portland, Yakima, Medford or Eugene will have some better luck with clearer nights.

The next biggie is the Lyrids, which goes from April 17 to 25, peaking around the 22nd. These are a medium-level shower, according to NASA and the AMS, but some of them can become fireballs – which are an unbelievable sight. Read about two Portland, Oregon fireballs seen in the 2020s.

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“The waning crescent moon will slightly interfere with viewing these meteors in 2025,” the AMS said.

Up after that is the Eta Aquariids, which can be fun to catch from April 20 through May 21. At the peak on May 3-4, you may see 10 – 30 meteors per hour, and that can last for a week on either of those peak days.

Tips for watching these on the Oregon coast or Washington coast:

Just about all of the coastline is great for catching these, weather permitting. However, higher vantage points can help because of mistier conditions closer to the water. Especially good for a nocturnal eyeful are Neahkahnie Viewpoint near Manzanita, Cape Foulweather near Depoe Bay, the gravel pullout just south of Yachats and before the Devil's Churn, Oceanside's Anderson Viewpoint or the top part of Cape Sebastian near Gold Beach (if accessible at night).

NASA photo

Then there's that ominous asteroid 2024 YR4 – the one that NASA first said would only have a 1% chance of hitting us in 2032, and then that was upped slightly to 2.3%.

Granted, NASA scientists and other astronomers won't know more until closer to that date, but the upgrade in chances still means it's very remote: a 98% chance it will not hit us.

“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will also observe the asteroid in March 2025 to better assess the asteroid’s size,” NASA said in a press release. “Currently the asteroid is estimated to be 130-300 feet across.”

Above: Zodiacal Light at Bend, Oregon, courtesy David Lane

NASA maintains an asteroid risk list, which is an important possibility to keep track of, considering the devastating effects previous asteroids have had on Earth. The massive one that hit 65 million years ago plunged the atmosphere into a kind of nuclear winter for decades and decades, killing off most species on the planet.

Still, asteroid 2024 YR4 has some incredibly large shoes to fill in that category and wouldn't achieve anywhere near that destruction.

In the final analysis, you won't need to “party like it's 2032” - unless you really want to whoop it up for some other reason.

More importantly, get ready to look for the zodiacal light / false dusk (as it's known in the northern hemisphere) in March. It shows up in the west, which makes it ideal for Washington or Oregon's coastline just after dark.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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