Perseid Meteor Shower 2026: Best viewing times for South Mississippi stargazers
Calling all stargazers! The annual Perseid Meteor Shower is reaching its peak Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
This year’s new moon will provide darker skies, making viewing conditions even better.
The Perseids have been active since mid-July and will continue almost through the end of August, but this is the one night you’ll want to look up to catch the best of the show.
WXXV News 25’s Brynne Baxley spoke with NASA about what causes the shower and the best time for South Mississippi residents to catch the show.
“So, the Perseids happened when the Earth runs into a bunch of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. So, Comet Swift-Tuttle is going around the Sun in its orbit, and the Earth is going around the Sun in its orbit, and they have a close approach point. They almost intersect. And every time the Earth gets that close approach point, that intersection point, we run into this trail of debris, and that debris burns up in our atmosphere, creating the Perseid meteor shower.”
Bill Cooke leads NASA’s meteoroid environments office. He says the best time to look up will be starting around 3 o’clock Thursday morning. He recommends staying off your phone and giving your eyes time to adjust to the dark. “People in the suburbs of Gulfport should see about 15 to 20 Perseids per hour. So, if you go outside, you may see up to 1 Perseid every 3 minutes.”
This year’s peak is coming at the perfect time. A new moon means there will be very little moonlight to washout the night sky.
For areas farther away from city lights, Cooke says communities like Wiggins could see as many as 50 Perseids an hour, or nearly one every minute. “It’s pieces of outer space coming to us. You know, we talk about sending spacecraft to asteroids and planets and the moon. Well, when a meteor burns up in the atmosphere, it’s coming to us. These are tiny bits of comets and asteroids that are burning up in our atmosphere.”
By August 15, experts say the best of the show will be over and there will be little left to see.
NASA will be livestreaming the Perseid meteor shower with its experts on YouTube Wednesday at 11 p.m. central time.
