The Perseid meteor shower is peaking this week, and if the weather cooperates, you may see quite a show.
The maximum meteor activity will sadly happen during the day, on Thursday at 10:53 a.m. ET, according to Earth Sky. But you should be able to see the shower Wednesday night and before dawn on Thursday morning, CNN reported.
This week is special when it comes to looking at the cosmos.
Along with the meteor shower, there is also a solar eclipse this week, a rare event.
[ Rare solar eclipse to darken sky Wednesday ]
So some parts of the world may be able to see the meteors during their daylight peak, EarthSky said.
They will be active through Aug. 24.
CNN also explained that since eclipses happen during a new moon, there will be little to no moonlight, so the night sky will be dark, allowing the meteors to be seen a bit more easily.
The Perseids are considered the best meteor shower, according to NASA. It dates back more than 2,000 years and the meteors radiate from the constellation of Perseus. They are produced by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which will not be seen as it orbits the sun every 133 years or so.
It produces fireballs, which may result in colorful smoke trails, the American Meteor Society’s fireball report coordinator, Robert Lunsford, told CNN.
Rural areas may see 30 to 50 meteors an hour; urban areas may see 15 to 25 in the same period.
There have been some years that stargazers saw up to 90 an hour.
“If you look in one direction, you’re going to miss the ones behind you,” Dr. Shannon Schmoll, director of Michigan State University’s Abrams Planetarium, said. “More realistically, if you are in a dark sky site, you’re going to see between 30 and 50.”
Space.com said the best way to see the most meteors is to look about 45 degrees away from Perseus. You should go someplace where there are dark skies, away from city lights and give yourself about 30 minutes for your eyes to acclimate. You don’t need a telescope or binoculars, because according to Space.com, “meteors are best enjoyed with the naked eye.”
This is not the last meteor shower for 2026. There are six more on tap, according to the American Meteor Society:
- Orionids: peaking October 21-22
- Southern Taurids: peaking November 4-5
- Northern Taurids: peaking November 11-12
- Leonids: peaking November 16-17
- Geminids: peaking December 13-14
- Ursids: peaking December 21-22
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