Overview
- The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight Wednesday into Thursday, Aug. 12–13, offering the strongest display of the season during the hours after midnight through pre‑dawn.
- This year's peak coincides with a new moon, which leaves skies unusually dark and raises the chance that faint meteors and colorful fireballs will be visible from well‑dark locations.
- Experts say no equipment is needed; lie back, let your eyes adjust for 20 to 30 minutes, and watch a wide patch of sky away from city lights for the best view.
- Estimated peak rates depend on sky darkness: NASA projects up to about 100 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies while the American Meteor Society gives a more conservative 30–50 per hour for rural observers, and local clouds or wildfire smoke can sharply reduce counts.
- The Perseids come from debris left by comet 109P/Swift‑Tuttle, which has a 133‑year orbit and will not return to the inner solar system until around 2125, and the shower has been recorded for more than 2,000 years.