The Perseids peak on 12 August. Look northeast after midnight, and leave the telescope at home
Up to 100 meteors an hour on a New Moon, on the night of 12-13 August 2026. What time to watch the Perseids, which way to look and where to go in Portugal — plus the eclipse the same afternoon.
The Perseids 2026 peak on the night of August 12 to 13 — and this year nature has aligned everything: the shower’s maximum coincides with a New Moon, meaning properly dark skies and conditions that will not repeat until 2045. Away from light pollution, estimates point to 90 to 100 meteors per hour at the peak, with the best window between midnight and dawn.
Where can you watch the Perseids in Portugal?
The darker, the better. The national headliner is Dark Sky Alqueva, the world’s first certified dark-sky reserve, which usually runs observation events around this time. But Portugal has no shortage of alternatives: Serra da Estrela, the Gerês, the Alentejo and Trás-os-Montes interior — anywhere high, far from city lights and with an open horizon will do. Lie back, give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust, and put the phone away: meteors are a naked-eye show, and a telescope actually gets in the way.
What time should you watch the Perseids?
After midnight, and the closer to dawn the better. The reason is straightforward: in the small hours your side of the planet swings round to face the direction Earth is travelling, so you meet the meteors head-on instead of waiting for them to catch you up. You will see something before midnight. You will see more after it.
Which way do you look?
Northeast. The Perseids appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast early in the evening and climbs higher through the night. That said, do not stare straight at it — the longest, best streaks show up well away from the radiant, so you are better off taking in as much sky as you can. Lying flat on the ground is genuinely the right position, and after an hour with your neck craned upwards you will understand why.
Do you need a telescope or binoculars?
No. This is one of the few things in astronomy that looks better with the naked eye, because what matters is a wide field of view and a telescope narrows it. Bring a blanket, something warm even in August, and a red-light torch if you need to see your footing — white light undoes the 20 minutes your eyes spent adjusting to the dark.
The shower runs until 24 August
Perseid activity runs from 17 July to 24 August, so the peak is not the last chance of the year. After the night of the 12th to the 13th the rate drops — but not to nothing, and the nights that follow still deliver streaks to anyone who gets away from the lights. The show happens as Earth crosses the dust trail of comet Swift-Tuttle; NASA keeps a full guide to the shower.
And there is one more reason to circle 12 August: late that same afternoon the Sun goes 92% to 99% dark in a partial eclipse visible across the mainland — for which, unlike the Perseids, you genuinely do need certified glasses. An eclipse in the afternoon and the best meteor shower in decades after dark: it is hard to beat a bill headlined by the sky itself.
The exact times of the 2026 peak
For the record, because the combination will not come round again soon: the new moon fell at 6.37pm Lisbon time on the 12th, minutes after the eclipse maximum, and that is what guaranteed no moonlight at all a few hours later. The peak rate window ran between 3am and 5am on the 13th, with the radiant in Perseus high above the north-eastern horizon from 10pm onwards.
One last thing, for anyone who kept the eclipse glasses: they are for looking at the sun and nothing else. At night they do nothing but black out exactly what you came to see.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still see the Perseids after the peak?
Yes, until 24 August. The hourly rate falls a long way after the night of the 12th to the 13th, but from a dark site with an open horizon meteors keep coming, mostly between midnight and dawn.
What time are the Perseids most visible?
Between midnight and sunrise, and the small hours are the best of it. That is when your side of the Earth turns to face the direction the planet is travelling and meets the meteors head-on.
Do you need glasses or a telescope to watch the Perseids?
You need nothing at all. The Perseids are a naked-eye show and look better that way, because what matters is a wide field of view. Eclipse glasses are for the sun only and never for a night sky.
Where can you watch the Perseids in Portugal?
Anywhere high, dark and with a clear horizon. The reference sites are the Dark Sky Alqueva reserve, Serra da Estrela, the Gerês and the Alentejo and Trás-os-Montes interior.
Image: Giles Laurent / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
