Updated

Updated · The Journal News · Jul 17

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Aug. 12-13 With 100 Meteors an Hour as New Moon Darkens Skies

Updated

Updated · The Journal News · Jul 17

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Aug. 12-13 With 100 Meteors an Hour as New Moon Darkens Skies

Q: With the sun just above the horizon, are eclipse chasers gambling on a view that distant clouds could easily block?

Yes. For the Balearics and eastern Spain, eclipse chasers are taking a real weather gamble because the Sun will be only a few degrees above the horizon at totality, so the view depends on a long, clear line of sight to the west-northwest, not just clear sky overhead. That geometry is the problem. In Mallorca, for example, the Sun will be about 2.7 degrees high during totality. At that angle, high clouds, haze or a low cloud bank far away can block the eclipsed Sun. Experts cited in eclipse planning for 2026 warn that clouds 170 to 200 kilometers away can matter when the Sun is this low. Standard local forecasts are therefore less useful than horizon-specific forecasts and satellite imagery. Terrain and buildings add another risk. A site can sit inside the path of totality and still lose the eclipse if a ridge, tree line, hotel block or even a slight rise cuts off the last few degrees above the horizon. That is why specialists such as Eduard Masana Fresno, Michael Zeiler and meteorologist Jay Anderson stress careful site selection, mobility and late decision-making. The odds are not hopeless, but they are uneven. Inland Spain generally has the best clear-sky statistics, around 70 to 85 percent in parts of Castile and León, La Rioja and Aragón. Coastal and island sites offer the dramatic “sunset eclipse” experience but face added maritime haze and horizon risk. For chasers, the trade-off is clear: the most spectacular view is also one of the most fragile.

3 articles · Updated · The Journal News · Jul 17

Aug. 12-13 will bring the Perseids' 2026 peak, with skywatchers across the Northern Hemisphere potentially seeing more than 100 meteors an hour.
New moon conditions at the peak should keep skies unusually dark, improving visibility if weather stays clear; the best viewing runs from late night into the pre-dawn hours.
July 17 to Aug. 24 marks the shower's full active period, with meteors visible as early as 10 p.m. and strongest rates building as the radiant climbs higher overnight.
No equipment is needed—just a dark spot away from city lights and patience—as the Swift-Tuttle debris stream produces the Perseids' fast, bright meteors and occasional fireballs.