Category: Stargazing

Picture it: A slash of vivid green light splits the starry sky. There for a moment and then gone, leaving nothing but a short-lived glowing trail and a moment of pure joy. You've finally caught it, your first Perseid shooting star of the season.

What you saw was the final moment of a story billions of miles and thousands of years in the making. A story that began with that same shooting star locked inside the icy body of the wandering comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

The 16-mile-wide (26 kilometer) giant of a comet spends its life journeying back and forth between the outer and inner solar system, where its frigid body is heated by the sun, triggering dramatic outbursts of activity. While in close proximity to our star, ice near to the surface of the comet is transformed into gas, skipping the water stage entirely as it escapes out into the vastness of interplanetary space.

Embedded within that ice was once a micrometeoroid no larger than a grain of sand, destined to become the Perseid shooting star you saw.

The violence of the newborn micrometeoroid's exile was followed by an epoch of utter silence, as its orbit was subtly influenced by the unseen forces of the solar system. It would be easy to think of this as a lonely existence, but we'd be wrong.

Our cosmic pebble was joined by millions of others, all shed in the wake of Swift-Tuttle. A great stream of primordial material that threads through the inner solar system, crossing the path of Earth before extending in a great swarm that messily traces the elliptical orbit of their comet progenitor, below the plane of the solar system. Beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Each follows its own unique path. Trajectories are shaped by the force of a micrometeoroid's expulsion from the comet's nucleus, along with the gentle push of radiation from the sun and the gravitational tug of the planets.

It's impossible to know how long our shooting star drifted through the cold expanse of interplanetary space. Was it hundreds or many thousands of years? How many times might it have journeyed around the sun before its fateful rendezvous with our Blue Marble?

We can never know. What we do know is how its journey ended.

Civilizations could have risen to their zenith and crumbled in the time our micrometeoroid spent traversing the unfeeling expanse of interplanetary space, but its demise lasted but a fraction of a second. It collided with our planet's gaseous shell at 132,000 miles per hour (212,433 kmph), cutting a brilliant green trail through the summer sky as atmospheric friction vaporized the cometary shard.

It's that fiery demise that you spotted tonight — an experience that will repeat hundreds of times each and every hour at the height of the Perseid meteor shower, as Earth passes through the densest part of the debris stream cast off by comet Swift-Tuttle.

The Perseid meteor shower is active from now until Aug. 24, with the best viewing window occurring in the early hours of Aug. 13, as the shower's radiant rises to its highest point on the night of the shower's peak.

This year's peak will be particularly spectacular, unfolding as it does in the pristinely dark skies surrounding the Aug. 12 new moon, which will also cause a spectacular total solar eclipse to be visible across parts of Spain, Iceland and Greenland. If you find yourself in the path of totality and have luck on your side, then you might just spot a Perseid fireball brightening the false twilight that falls as the moon hides the face of the sun at the crescendo of the eclipse!

Want to capture a shooting star that will stay with you forever? Then be sure to read our guide to photographing fast-moving meteors, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography if you're looking to upgrade your gear.

Editor's Note: Did you catch a photo of a Perseid shooting star and want to share it with Space.com's readers? Then please go ahead and send your photos along with your comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

The Perseids may be the summer meteor shower everyone marks on the calendar, but they are not the only reason to look up this season.

From mid-July through late August, Earth plows through several other streams of comet and asteroid debris, triggering a series of lesser-known meteor showers across Northern Hemisphere skies.

Most will not deliver the dazzling hourly rates of the Perseids, and moonlight will spoil some peak nights in 2026. But for patient skywatchers under dark skies, these lesser-known showers can still serve up bright fireballs, faint streaks and a preview of the main event to come.

The duration in days of a shower we provide here is somewhat arbitrary, since the beginning and ending are gradual and indefinite. While the hourly rates from these other meteor streams provide but a fraction of the numbers produced by the Perseids, combined, overall, they provide a wide variety of meteors of differing colors, speeds and trajectories.

Capricornids

First to appear are the Capricornids, starting around July 10, with their maximum on July 25 and end on Aug. 15. Under the best conditions only a few bright meteors per hour come from this stream, so you'll hardly know it is in progress unless you plot meteor trails on a star map and trace them back to their common intersection point; most of the meteors you'll see will be sporadics or members of another shower.

The radiant reaches its highest point at about 30 degrees high in the south, about 2:00 a.m. local daylight time. The waxing gibbous moon will have set at around 1:40 a.m. on the night of the peak, leaving the rest of the night dark for prospective meteor watchers.

Delta Aquarids

Next come the Delta Aquarids, July's most prolific shower, with maximum on July 29, and as many as two or three dozen meteors per hour under ideal conditions. The shower lasts from July 12 to Aug. 23. It has a double radiant, indicating that we are seeing two distinct streams of celestial debris burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

The meteors are mostly faint; a few bright, 5-10% leave persistent trains; they move at medium-slow speeds because they are coming in sideways across Earth's orbit. On peak night this year, the double radiant will be highest — roughly 40 degrees above the southern horizon — at 3:30 a.m. Unfortunately, in 2026, peak activity will coincide with full moon, so most of these streaks will likely be squelched by bright moonlight.

Piscis Australids

Another weak shower is the Piscis Australids, on July 30, with normal limits July 10 to Aug. 10. This is a lesser stream; only about eight members per hour are seen under best conditions to observers in the Southern Hemisphere, where the radiant — near the bright star Fomalhaut — climbs high in the sky.

As is the case with the Delta Aquarids, the moon, only one day past full, unfortunately, wrecks any chances of getting any decent views this year.

Alpha Capricornids

The final shower peaking in July is the Alpha Capricornids, which begin about July 7, peak on July 31, and end on Aug. 15. The radiant reaches its highest point, about 30 degrees high in the south at about 1:00 a.m. local daylight time. Though sparse (5 per hour) in number, the Alpha Capricornids are photogenic, frequently producing bright yellow fireballs that can be quite spectacular. Sadly, the bright moon, 93% illuminated, is in eastern Capricornus and will seriously impact the peak of this year's display.

Iota Aquarids

The last minor shower before the Perseids is the Iota Aquarids, a two-radiant shower having detectable members from July 15 to Aug. 25. At peak activity on Aug. 6, only about six members per hour are seen under good conditions; the radiants are at their highest point, about 40 degrees in the south at 2:30 a.m. A last quarter moon will be about one-third up in the eastern sky at that hour, which will interfere to an extent with viewing these meteors.

Perseids

The Perseids are predicted to reach their peak in 2026 on the morning of Aug. 13. Meteors whose paths extended backward intersect at a spot near the Perseid-Cassiopeia border not far from the famous Double Cluster in Perseus.

It rises at dusk and is highest in the sky — nearly overhead — at 5:40 a.m. When maximum occurs in a dark sky, as will be the case this year, this rich stream offers a crescendo in hourly rates averaging more than 50 members per hour, though double this rate has been seen on occasion. Many flaring meteors with trains are seen. This shower normally extends from July 17 through Aug. 24.

Kappa Cygnids

The last summer shower is the Kappa Cygnids. The limits of this shower run from Aug. 3 to Aug. 25, with the peak on Aug. 17. Though the maximum rate is only about four per hour, the stream does provide slow-moving flaring fireballs, and a careful observer may be nicely rewarded for the time spent.

The radiant is just north of the star Kappa Cygni and is nearly overhead — some 80 degrees high — at around 10:00 p.m. local time. At about that same time, a waxing crescent moon is low in the southwest and is about to set and will offer little viewing interference.

Where to look

The radiant is the place in the sky where the paths of shower members, if extended backward, would intersect when plotted on a star chart. Many people are misled into thinking that this is the best place to look for these meteors, but only stationary meteors — ones coming nearly straight at you — can be seen here.

The greatest numbers will be seen perhaps 30 degrees away from the radiant, in the general direction of the zenith. Remember that your clenched fist held at arm's length is roughly equal to 10 degrees.

In addition to shower meteors, there are always sporadic ones, apparently unrelated to one another, that occur at an average rate of about 7 per hour. The duration in days of a particular shower is somewhat arbitrary, since the beginning and ending are gradual and indefinite.

Skywatching tips

The only equipment you'll need is your eyes and a modest amount of patience.

The number of meteors an observer can see in an hour depends strongly on sky conditions. The rates quoted here are based on a limiting star magnitude of +6.5 (an exceptionally good, dark sky), an experienced observer, and the assumption that the radiant is directly overhead.

The lower the radiant in the sky, the fewer the numbers that will be seen. At an altitude of about 30 degrees, the hourly rate is halved, at 15 degrees it is one-third. No two observers prepare for a meteor vigil the same way.

Expect the overnight low temperature to be well below what the weather forecast suggests. When you sit quite still, close to the rapidly cooling ground, and if the air is even just slightly damp, you can become very chilled. It helps to take a late afternoon nap, followed by a shower, and to wear fresh clothing. Heavy blankets, sleeping bags, a ground cloth, an auto cushion, and a pillow are all necessary equipment. Some food and non-alcoholic beverages will help keep you comfortable.

Don't forget the moon

Another factor is the phase of the moon, which this year will be full on July 29 and new on Aug. 12. This makes it a very favorable year for viewing the Perseids, but not so favorable for those displays peaking at the end of July into early August. However, most are also active for a good number of days before and after maximum activity, so you can also watch for them when moonlight is not a hindrance.

Are these meteor showers worth watching?

In short, minor summer meteor showers are worth watching if you enjoy patient, low-key skywatching, but they are not ideal if you expect a dramatic display.

They offer a long observing season, require no equipment, and can produce a variety of meteors with different colors, speeds, paths, and occasionally bright fireballs. They also give observers more chances to watch when skies are clear and moonlight is less intrusive.

However, most are weak when compared to the Perseids, with low hourly rates and many faint meteors. Moonlight, low radiant positions, overlapping showers, and sporadic meteors can make them harder to see and identify, so observers need dark skies and patience.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope, The Old Farmer's Almanac and other publications.

People keep asking me about the total solar eclipse on August 12. That's understandable. For anyone in the Northern Hemisphere, it is shaping up to be a joyous day of astronomy. Totality will cross eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain, but much of Europe will see a very deep partial eclipse, and even parts of North America will see a small bite taken from the sun. Then, just hours later, the Perseid meteor shower will peak beneath perfectly moonless skies. What a double-act!

The problem with promoting days and nights like that is that they make us think skywatching is only worth doing at very specific times. Everything becomes about moments, peaks and countdowns. That rings true for an eclipse, of course, but for the Perseids, it's less so.

The Perseid meteor shower actually begins right now. It's active from July 17 through August 24. Yes, it reaches a strong maximum overnight on August 12-13, where observers under ideal dark skies could see 50 or more "shooting stars" per hour. That's absolutely the night to aim for if you only go stargazing once a month. But for stargazers with a little more time, the hunt can begin right now.

The best Perseid is the first one you see. In these weeks before the peak, there's less expectation, less focus on the weather. An unexpected streak while you are outside feels accidental.

For me, it often happens when I've stopped observing properly for the night. Last summer, I was moving my telescope indoors late at night after a fairly unremarkable session looking at a few globular clusters. As I went back inside, I did my usual pause and look at the stars one last time. As I did, my peripheral vision caught a bright meteor whizzing across rooftops in the northeast. Summer's meteor season had begun with a bang when I least expected it to.

The Perseids officially build gradually over several weeks as Earth slowly enters the broad debris stream left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. It was last in the inner solar system in 1992 and will return in 2126. The peak around August 12—13 marks the densest part of the stream, but in mid-July, only a handful of meteors will appear each hour. That's exactly why early Perseids feel so special — you stumble across a meteor when you least expect it. Its gradual beginning also explains why some of the earliest Perseids can be surprisingly dramatic. The shower is famous for bright fireballs — large, vivid meteors that sometimes leave glowing trails lingering for several seconds. Even when overall meteor rates remain low in July, a single bright Perseid can add some magic to a night's observing.

What's happening and when to look

If you want to begin watching for Perseids this week, the best time is after midnight through the small hours before dawn, when the radiant constellation, Perseus, climbs higher in the northeastern sky. "Shooting stars" can appear anywhere in the night sky, but if their paths backward point roughly toward Perseus, it's a Perseid. That's what gives the shower its name.

There's more to look at than Perseids because July is quietly crowded with other meteor showers. The Southern Delta Aquariids begin strengthening through the second half of the month. From southern latitudes, they can produce roughly 25 meteors per hour under dark skies, though observers farther north tend to see fewer because the radiant stays low in the southern sky. These meteors are usually softer and subtler than Perseids — medium-speed streaks without many dramatic fireballs or glowing trails.

Running alongside them are the Alpha Capricornids, active from early July into mid-August. Technically, this is a weak shower, often producing only a handful of meteors per hour, but it compensates with unusually bright, slow-moving fireballs.

Unfortunately, both showers peak this year beneath an almost full Buck Moon on July 30-31, which will wash out many fainter meteors. But bright meteors and fireballs should still occasionally punch through the moonlight.

How and when I'm watching it

I will probably begin meteor season the same way I always do: accidentally. I'll increase the odds by lingering outdoors slightly longer than necessary on warm nights, staying up later than I should and using my smart telescope to collect data on deep-sky objects while I search the skies for the first Perseid. It's best done now, before the moon waxes to full, and certainly before early August, when it wanes — the worst moon phase for observing meteors because it's in the sky just as meteor activity peaks.

Stargazer's corner: July 17-24, 2026

With a new moon on July 14, this weekend is perfect for watching the return of a waxing crescent moon to the night sky. Look low in the west during dusk on Friday, July 17, to see a 16%-illuminated waxing crescent moon to the left of Venus. Watch it climb higher into the evening sky night after night, leaving genuinely dark late-night skies once it sets. It's good timing for the first serious Perseid-watching session of the season, particularly after midnight when meteor activity naturally increases as Earth rotates into the direction of travel around the sun.

Meanwhile, the Summer Triangle — formed by Vega, Deneb and Altair — hangs almost overhead during the darkest hours, making this one of the easiest seasonal star patterns for beginners to learn. Saturn now rises comfortably before midnight and dominates the southeastern sky by dawn, when it's joined by Mars and the stunning Pleiades open cluster.

Constellation of the week: Perseus

Perseus, "The Hero," never quite looks how beginners expect. Rising into the northeastern night sky around midnight this week between bright star Capella and Saturn in the east, its name suggests something dramatic, but the constellation itself appears more like a loose chain of stars stretching below Cassiopeia in the northeastern sky. At this time of year, Perseus rises late, which is why the best Perseid activity happens after midnight once the radiant climbs higher. Beginners often assume meteors appear only near the radiant itself, but the longest and most impressive Perseids usually streak much farther away across the sky. Perseus matters less as a viewing target than as a reminder that meteor showers are fundamentally about perspective. The meteors are not actually emerging from the constellation at all — Earth is simply driving through comet debris head-on.

Look up! The Perseid meteor shower is finally active, bringing the potential for gorgeous shooting stars and fireballs as Earth plunges into the trail of debris shed by the icy comet Swift-Tuttle. Here's what you need to know.

The Perseid meteor shower 2026 is set to be a truly magnificent affair and a stark contrast to last year, when moonlight drowned out all but the brightest shooting stars. The shower will reach peak activity overnight on Aug. 12-13 under the dark skies of the new moon. During the peak, up to 100 shooting stars may be seen each hour as they cut fiery paths through the summer sky, according to the American Meteor Society.

You could even spot a Perseid brightening the false twilight triggered at the climax of the Aug. 12. eclipse, as the moon perfectly hides the surface of our parent star. But for that to happen you'd have to find yourself in the path of totality just as a large fireball-producing meteoroid struck Earth's atmosphere. It's certainly possible, but let's just say that the odds aren't stacked in your favor.

If you're not in the path of totality then there's no need to despair, you stand a much better chance of spotting Perseids the old fashioned way anyway!

How to spot Perseid shooting stars

Perseid meteors can be spotted anytime after dark from tonight onwards, streaking away from a patch of sky, or radiant, located close to the red supergiant star Eta Persei in the constellation Perseus.

To find the best meteors, you'll first want to locate Perseus glistening above the northwestern horizon after dark. Next, find a patch of sky 40 degrees above it, and settle in for one of the year's premier natural light shows. This is where the shooting star trails will be at their longest.

The Perseids are also famed for producing vivid green fireballs capable of briefly turning night to day as larger chunks of debris collide with Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 37 miles per second (59 kilometers per second).

When to look for Perseid meteors

Perseid meteors may be spotted anytime from 10 p.m. onward for viewers in the U.S., though the number of visible shooting stars will be higher in the hours before dawn, when the radiant rises to its highest point in the summer night sky. Try to head away from city lights and allow at least 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness.

Relatively few shooting stars will be visible in the days following the shower's awakening compared to the peak. However, if you do catch one, you'll have seen the demise of a meteoroid that's likely been flying through space for thousands of years before reaching Earth.

"The meteors we see early and late during the activity are most likely the oldest as they have obviously been perturbed from the main orbit of the comet, which we encounter in mid-August," said Robsert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society in an email to Space.com.

The greatest number of meteors can be seen in the predawn hours of Aug. 13 as the shower reaches peak activity, when Earth passes through the densest section of the debris stream left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle.

Want to capture your own photos of the Perseid meteor shower? Then be sure to read our guide detailing how to image shooting stars, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.

Editor's Note: Did you capture a photo of a Perseid and want to share it with Space.com's readers? Then please send your photos and comments, along with your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.