12/08/2026
The night sky's most anticipated show peaks tonight, and this year the timing could not be better.
The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight from August 12 into the early hours of August 13, capable of producing up to 100 meteors per hour under dark, clear skies. The Perseids are famous for fast, bright meteors that streak across the sky at nearly 60 kilometres per second, many leaving glowing trails that linger for a moment after they pass. They're the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last swept through the inner solar system in 1992.
🌠 The best part this year: the peak falls on a New Moon, so there's no moonlight to drown out even the faintest streaks. Conditions rarely get this good.
To watch, head somewhere away from city lights after midnight. Lie back, let your eyes adjust for 20 to 30 minutes, and take in as much sky as you can. The meteors radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeast, but they'll appear all over. No telescope, no binoculars, just your eyes and a little patience 🌠
