Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, aided by a new moon

scienceAug 12, 2026311,996

The Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak in the early morning hours of 12 and 13 August, with a new moon providing darker skies and the best chance of seeing many meteors. Observers could see more than 100 'shooting stars' per hour at peak if conditions are very favourable. The Perseids come from debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, whose solid core measures about 16 miles (26 km) and whose 133-year orbit means some particles date back more than a century. A deep partial solar eclipse will be visible across parts of the UK in the early evening before sunset, a coincidence Dr Becky Smethurst called "the perfect cosmic coincidence of events" and described the Perseids as "one of the best nights for astronomy all year." BBC Weather forecasts largely clear skies for most of England and Wales, while northern England, Northern Ireland and much of Scotland face more cloud and the risk of showers. For best viewing, choose a dark site away from artificial light, give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust, and look toward the widest unobstructed patch of sky; the shower remains active from mid-July until 23 August.

Duncan Crombie

@the-art-of-web.com

Don't forget to look up tonight, if you're somewhere where the sky is dark 🌠 #Perseids "Golden Meteor Shower" #synthart

minimalist graphic gouache on darkblue paper, flat opaque colour shapes, hard edges, simplified silhouettes, sparse brushwork, limited palette, large uninterrupted areas of background, isolated shapes separated by negative space, unfinished ragged paint edges, a shower of small luminous golden meteors over silhouetted Carpathian mountains, layered valleys, strong visual flow --no frame, borders --ar 5:7 --stylize 150 --v 8.2

1393Yesterday

Andrew Halliwell4

Tomorrownight's likely to be even more interesting, what with the partial eclipse close to sunset AND the meteors.

dragonsegg.bsky.social3

It’s my birthday today. Every year I have been able to, I go out to watch the meteors since I was 10 or so. It always strikes wonder and joy

William Logan2

I'm in the Pacific Northwest, too much smoke.😔

Antonia Frasier2

Thank you. Heavy cloud cover in my area. High hopes for tomorrow night. 🤞🏽

scrappydoob.bsky.social2

Thanks 🙏 for the reminder 😊

Stephen Campbell1

I did. It was gorgeous. ✨

Quoting this

Brilliant Bill2

And it will look absolutely nothing like this!!!

RSPB

@rspb.bsky.social

A little celestial magic is coming our way tonight! ☀️🌘 From shortly after 6pm, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from parts of the UK, peaking around an hour later. Then, after dark, the Perseid meteor shower takes over, with shooting stars streaking across our skies into the early hours.

A partial solar eclipse against a glowing orange sky, with the Moon covering the lower-right portion of the Sun. Text reads: “A once in a generation solar eclipse will be visible this evening.”

1413h ago

👻

@0x0.sigint.team

My gran said "things happen in threes" Today: 1. Solar eclipse 2. Perseid meteor shower 3. Extinction event? Anyway, have a nice day And good luck 🤞

1065h ago

Jus 🇮🇪 🇪🇺 🚜 🌲5

Cosmic rapture event...anyways, l have to go to the bank 🏦 🥳

Von Karajan5

Be nonchalant, trust Poliakoff. The 3rd thing is the multi-planetary alignment.

Miranda3

Mine also said “There’s always a disaster at Christmas “ and always said “If we’re spared” to anyone who said See you soon/ next week/in the morning. I don’t think she was an optimist 🙄🥴

✨CHELLE D☯GGO✨(she/they)3

...wanna run that third thing by me again?

Pickwick The Dodo3

To be honest with the state of the world I might welcome it.

Neil 2

The holocene extinction event is already ongoing

David Blanchflower BSc

@davidbflower.bsky.social

After the Eclipse, we'll be treated to the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. 🔭 🧪

894h ago

🦝 Socks 🐭

@socksfur.bsky.social

Solar eclipse and a meteor shower in one day? It's more likely than you think! Okay, okay, I should have done this video last week. But knowing my audience y'all would have forgotten by now so doing it the day before is good. #perseids #eclipse #outerspace

4814h ago

Emily Hare

@emilyhare.com

Due to be a clear night tonight for the Perseid Meteor Shower. Exciting! About 20+ years ago I saw 100 shooting stars in the space of 2hrs! It can be very exciting!

294h ago

Alexandra Dawe1

And an eclipse tonight too!

Franziska Detlefsen1

I already saw some shooting stars this weekend but I'm so going to lay outside tonight in the hope to see even more. 🤗❤️ I love it

Nigel Bell 🍉1

Daughter no.1 got married over in the UK in March ['puffins', don't ask] & then a quick N'thern European tour thereafter. She took glorious photos of the Aurora Borealis over a Norwegian village. I asked, "have you seen the A. Australis over Melbourne?" "No - it's always raining or overcast." 😑

Ian Denton

@iand777.bsky.social

The old Rook sits expectantly atop the Ash, as the light begins to go - he croaked to the kids - 'it's the first night of the Perseid meteor showers, keep your eyes peeled'. #Corvids #Perseids

2117h ago

Emma Harding

@emmaharding.bsky.social

how can it be so late all at once somewhere the Perseids are falling toward us already at a speed that would burn us alive if we could believe it but in the stillness after the rain ends nothing is to be heard but the drops falling - W S Merwin, Nocturne II, #Perseids

115h ago

David Barnett

@davidmbarnett.bsky.social

Eclipse, Perseid meteors, fifth heatwave, Count Binface. May you live in interesting times etc

193h ago

Longbarrow Press

@longbarrowpress.bsky.social

The Perseid meteor shower is set to peak tonight, in the small hours, on the other side of the solar eclipse, the culmination of several weeks of activity, with a few more weeks to come. It's not so much an event as a process. Here's a piece written in the wake of the 2021 shower.

145h ago

Satan’s favourite princess

@vivisextion.bsky.social

So not only is today and tomorrow (August 12-13) a new moon, a solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor showers… it’s also the first day of the 7th lunar month on the 13th, aka the opening of the Ghost gate for Hungry Ghost month to begin. that’s so much yin energy we’re cooked

146h ago