Meteor shower

Perseids 2026

Active Fri 17 Jul, 00:00 → Mon 24 Aug, 23:59

Use your naked eyes. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so a telescope's narrow field of view is not helpful.

Find a dark open area with a wide sky view. Allow 20–30 minutes for dark adaptation — avoid phone screens (or use Red Mode).

The radiant is in Perseus, but for longer meteor trails look roughly 30–60° away from it rather than directly at it.

Reference ZHR

100

Idealised zenithal hourly rate under perfect dark skies with the radiant at the zenith. Real observed rates are usually lower.

Speed

59 km/s

Parent body

109P/Swift-Tuttle

Primary maximum midpoint

Thu 13 Aug, 03:00