Each August, Earth passes through the ancient debris trail of comet Swift-Tuttle, and the sky answers with fire. This year, the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks overnight on August 12th and 13th over Oregon under a new moon — the darkest skies in weeks — offering up to a hundred meteors per hour to anyone willing to step outside and look up. It is one of the oldest recurring spectacles in human memory, a reminder that the cosmos does not require an invitation to make itself known.
Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Aug. 12-13 With Up to 100 Meteors Per Hour
The sky will fill with light between midnight and dawn
Mark
Why does the new moon matter so much for this particular night?
Mimi
The moon reflects sunlight. When it's full or even half-lit, that reflected light washes across the entire sky and drowns out the fainter meteors. On a new moon night, there's no reflected light at all—just darkness. It's the difference between trying to see stars from a parking lot and trying to see them from the desert.
Mark
So you could see the Perseids on other nights too, just not as many?
Mimi
Exactly. The shower lasts for weeks. But on the 12th and 13th, you're getting the peak activity—the densest part of the debris trail—combined with the darkest possible sky. It's the sweet spot.
Mark
Do you need equipment?
Mimi
No. That's what makes it accessible. Binoculars and telescopes can actually work against you because they narrow your field of view. You want to see as much sky as possible. Lie on your back, let your eyes adjust for twenty minutes or so, and watch.
Mark
What's a fireball, exactly?
Mimi
A larger piece of the comet's debris. When it hits the atmosphere, it's brighter—sometimes bright enough to cast a shadow on the ground. They're rare enough to feel special when you see one.
Mark
Why Swift-Tuttle specifically?
Mimi
It's the parent comet of the Perseid stream. Its orbit crosses Earth's orbit, and every year we pass through the debris it left behind. It's been happening for centuries, which is why the Perseids are so reliable.
Mark
What if I can't get outside?
Mimi
NASA is streaming it live on YouTube. It's not the same as being there, but it's better than missing it entirely.
O Pulso
- Up to 100 meteors per hour — including shadow-casting fireballs — will streak across Oregon skies at peak hours between midnight and dawn on August 12th and 13th.
- A new moon phase eliminates nearly all lunar glare, creating some of the darkest viewing conditions of the year and making even faint meteors visible to the naked eye.
- OMSI is hosting free public watch parties at Stub Stewart and Rooster Rock state parks, with telescopes on hand and the Rose City Astronomers guiding the night.
- For those who can't make it outside, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center streams a live watch party on YouTube beginning at 9 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday.
Each August, Earth passes through the ancient debris trail of comet Swift-Tuttle, and the sky answers with fire. This year, the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks overnight on August 12th and 13th over Oregon under a new moon — the darkest skies in weeks — offering up to a hundred meteors per hour to anyone willing to step outside and look up. It is one of the oldest recurring spectacles in human memory, a reminder that the cosmos does not require an invitation to make itself known.
In a few days, the sky above Oregon will fill with light. Between midnight and dawn on August 12th and 13th, Earth will cross through a river of cosmic debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle, and the particles that enter our atmosphere will burn bright enough to see with nothing but your eyes and a dark patch of ground.
At peak hours, observers can expect fifty to a hundred meteors per hour — some quick and faint, others brilliant fireballs born from larger chunks of cometary material. The phenomenon is centuries old and as reliable as the seasons, but this year's timing is especially favorable: the new moon falls on August 12th, leaving the sky darker than it has been in weeks and giving fainter meteors a fighting chance.
For those who want company, OMSI is hosting free watch parties at L.L. Stub Stewart and Rooster Rock state parks, with telescopes available and no admission required. The Perseids are best seen with a wide, naked-eye view of the sky anyway — a single lens catches far less than an open field and a patient gaze. NASA will also stream live coverage on YouTube starting at 9 p.m. Pacific time, though something is lost indoors: the cold air, the wide sky, the meteor that appears exactly where you weren't looking.
The shower takes its name from Perseus, the Greek hero whose constellation marks the point from which the meteors appear to radiate. The mythology is old, but the debris trail is older still — a quiet reminder that we live inside a solar system still in motion, still capable of spectacle, still worth looking up at.
In a few days, the sky will fill with light. Between midnight and dawn on August 12th and 13th, Earth will pass through a river of cosmic dust left behind by a comet, and what enters our atmosphere will burn bright enough to see without a telescope, without binoculars, without anything but your eyes and a dark patch of ground.
The Perseid Meteor Shower arrives every August, and this year it will be one of the best shows the year has to offer. NASA counts it among the most reliable annual meteor showers, and for good reason: at peak hours, you could see anywhere from fifty to a hundred meteors streak across the sky in a single hour. Some will be ordinary—quick bright lines that vanish in a blink. Others will be fireballs, the brilliant ones born from larger chunks of cometary material, bright enough to cast shadows on the ground below.
The source of all this is the comet Swift-Tuttle, which left a trail of debris in its orbit decades ago. Every year when Earth's path intersects that trail, the particles enter our atmosphere at tremendous speed. Friction with the air heats them until they glow and disintegrate, and what we see from the ground is the tail end of that violent encounter—a meteor shower that has been happening for centuries, reliable as seasons.
The timing this year is particularly good. Wednesday night, August 12th, marks the new moon phase, when the moon sits directly between Earth and the sun. The dark side faces us, which means almost no moonlight will wash out the fainter meteors. The sky will be darker than it has been in weeks. For anyone in the northern hemisphere, the conditions are nearly ideal.
If you want company, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is hosting free watch parties at two state parks: L.L. Stub Stewart and Rooster Rock. Telescopes will be set up for anyone who wants to use them, though they are not necessary—the Perseids are visible to the naked eye, and often that is the best way to see them, since a wide view of the sky catches more meteors than any single lens. The event runs Wednesday night and is sponsored by OMSI, the Rose City Astronomers, and Oregon Parks and Recreation.
If the outdoors feel like too much, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will stream a live meteor watch party on YouTube starting at 9 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday. You can watch from your couch, though something is lost that way—the cold air, the neck craned back, the moment when a meteor appears exactly where you were not looking and you almost miss it.
The Perseids have been named for the constellation Perseus, the Greek hero who killed Medusa and rescued Andromeda. Ancient astronomers saw the meteors appearing to radiate from that region of the sky and gave them his name. The mythology is old, but the phenomenon is older still—a reminder that we live inside a solar system still full of debris, still full of motion, still capable of putting on a show if we take the time to look up.
Citações Notáveis
The Perseid Meteor Shower is considered one of the best meteor showers of the year— NASA
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