Attractions
Perseid Meteor Shower
In the Sky above Lake Tahoe, CA & NV
South Lake Tahoe, California 96150August 12
12:00 am - 11:59 pm
July 9 @ 11:20 am
The annual Perseid meteor shower is one of the most beloved meteor showers of the year, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where the shower peaks on warm summer nights. No matter where you live worldwide, the 2026 Perseid meteor shower will probably produce the greatest number of meteors on the mornings of August 12 and 13.
The moon will be a new moon during 2026’s peak of the Perseid meteor shower. So you’ll have dark skies for meteor viewing. This shower rises to a peak gradually, then falls off rapidly. And Perseid meteors tend to strengthen in number as late night deepens into the wee hours before dawn. The shower is often best just before dawn.
Expected meteors at peak, under ideal conditions: Under a dark sky with no moon, skywatchers frequently report 90 meteors per hour, or more. In 2026, you’ll have a moonless sky to watch for Perseids. The August Perseid meteor shower is rich and steady, from early August through the peak. The meteors are colorful and many of them are bright. And they frequently leave persistent trains. All of these factors make the Perseid shower perhaps the most beloved meteor shower for the Northern Hemisphere.
Learn why famous meteor showers like the Perseids and Leonids occur every year
When you sit back to watch a meteor shower, you’re actually seeing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 km) per second. When they’re in space, the pieces of debris are called “meteoroids,” but when they reach Earth’s atmosphere, they’re designated as “meteors.” If a piece makes it all the way down to Earth space.com/18507-meteor-showers-shooting-stars-infographic without burning up, it graduates to “meteorite.” Most of the meteors in the Perseids are much too small for that; they’re about the size of a grain of sand.
What do you need to see them?
The key to seeing a meteor shower is “to take in as much sky as possible,” Cooke said. Go to a dark area, in the suburbs or countryside, and prepare to sit outside for a few hours. It takes about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark, and the longer you wait outside, the more you’ll see. A rate of 150 meteors per hour, for instance, means two to three meteors per minute, including faint streaks along with bright, fireball-generating ones.
Some skywatchers plan to camp out to see the Perseid meteor shower, but at the very least, viewers should bring something comfortable to sit on, some snacks, and some bug spray. Then, just relax and look upward for the celestial show.
Lodging in Lake Tahoe
