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Meteor shower · August

Perseids 2026

The summer favorite in the Northern Hemisphere: fast, bright meteors on warm August nights.

Peak nightAug 12–13
Rate at peakup to ~86/hour
Moon at peak0% · sets 20:29
Best time from London23:00–03:15
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The Perseids from London

Times for London, United Kingdom

On the night of Aug 12–13, the radiant climbs to 59° in the northeast while it’s dark in London. The Moon is only 0% lit, so moonlight won’t be a problem. The best window here is about 23:00–03:15.

  1. 20:29Moon sets
  2. 22:55Astronomical darkness begins
  3. 23:00Best window begins
  4. 03:15Dawn twilight begins
0°30°60°90°18:0021:0000:0003:0006:00RadiantMoon (0%)
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Traced backward, their trails meet at the radiant; the higher it is, the more you’ll see.

How to watch

You can start in the late evening, when Perseids are fewer but often long, grazing trails. Rates rise as Perseus climbs, so the hours before dawn are best. The shower is active for weeks, so nights either side of the peak are worth trying too.

The radiant is in Perseus, low in the northeast in the evening and high in the sky before dawn. Up to about 86 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). The shower is active from about 26 Jul to 19 Aug.

Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.

Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.

You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.

Where do they come from?

The Perseids are dust from Comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 133 years and is one of the largest comets known to pass close to Earth’s orbit.

Fast, bright meteors, many with trains, and more fireballs than most showers.

Active
26 Jul – 19 Aug
Peak
around 13 Aug 2026
Rate at peak (ZHR)
~86 per hour
Speed
59 km/s
Parent body
Comet 109P/Swift–Tuttle
Radiant
Cassiopeia

Calendar

Every major shower’s peak in 2026. Dates are approximate (±1 day) and given in UTC.

Questions

Can I see the Perseids from the Southern Hemisphere?
Only from northern parts of it, and with low rates. The radiant is far north and stays low or below the horizon.
Are the Perseids dangerous?
No. Nearly all the particles are smaller than a grain of sand and burn up completely high in the atmosphere.
How many meteors will I really see?
Fewer than the peak rate. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. With some light pollution, moonlight or a low radiant, a fraction of that is typical.
What is the radiant?
The point in the sky the meteors seem to come from. It’s a perspective effect: the dust travels in parallel paths, like snowflakes seen from a moving car. The higher the radiant, the more meteors you see.
Do I need a telescope or binoculars?
No. Your eyes are best because meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Optical aid narrows your view far too much.
Know the best hour for your sky.SkyMate can remind you when the radiant is up and the sky is dark where you are.Join the waitlist

Sources: Global Meteor Network (activity and peak solar longitudes, CC BY 4.0); Moorhead, Clements & Vida 2022 (radiants and speeds, CC BY 4.0); NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (typical peak rates; no NASA endorsement implied). Peak dates and positions computed by SkyMate. Data & Licences

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