Northern Hemisphere, best after midnightWhere it's visible
~100 / hourPeak rate
YesVisible from the U.S.
0%Moon at peak
Viewing advice
Best from the northern hemisphere. The radiant sits high in Perseus at about 58 degrees north, so from Australia, New Zealand or southern South America you see very little of it.
A new moon made 2026 the darkest Perseids in years.
Summer's dependable favorite: swift meteors, close to one a minute after midnight. The 2026 peak landed on a new moon, about as dark as this shower ever gets.
Moon at the peak: new moon, 0% lit (ideal). Almost no moonlight, so even the faint meteors show. About as good as this shower gets.
Why it happens
Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Inclined 113° to Earth's orbit. Every August, Earth reaches the node where this comet's dust crosses its path, and the debris burns up as the shower.
