Perseid Meteor Shower Countdown

One of the year's best

At its peak the Perseids can produce 50–100 meteors an hour under dark skies, including bright fireballs. They appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, hence the name.

How to watch

No telescope needed, just get away from city lights, let your eyes adjust for about 20 minutes, and look up. The best viewing is usually after midnight.

The tears of Saint Lawrence

Long before anyone knew what a meteor was, Europeans noticed shooting stars every year around August 10 — the feast of Saint Lawrence, martyred in 258 AD — and called them the 'tears of Saint Lawrence.' The scientific explanation arrived in 1862, when comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered, and in 1866 Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli matched its orbit to the August meteors. It was the first time any meteor shower was ever traced to its parent comet.

2026: a moonless peak night

The 2026 Perseids peak on the night of August 12–13 under a new moon, so there is no moonlight at all — ideal dark-sky conditions for the year's most popular shower. Find the darkest sky you can, lie back after midnight with a wide view overhead, and give your eyes 20–30 minutes to adapt (no phone screens). Rates climb toward dawn: under a truly dark sky, watchers can catch 50–90 meteors an hour, plus the occasional brilliant fireball.

Quick facts

• Peaks in mid-August each year
• Up to 50–100 meteors per hour at peak
• Debris from comet Swift-Tuttle
• Radiates from the constellation Perseus
• Perseid meteors hit the atmosphere at about 59 km (37 miles) per second
• Swift-Tuttle's 26 km nucleus is the largest object that repeatedly passes close to Earth