METEOR SHOWER · PEAK AUG 12–13, 2026
Up to 82 meteors an hour over Houston, and zero moonlight.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks over Houston on the night of August 12–13, 2026, under a new moon at 0% illumination: zero moonlight all night. True darkness runs 9:31 PM to 5:21 AM; the radiant climbs to 56° by 5:11 AM, good for up to 82 meteors per hour under truly dark skies.
THE RADIANT, HOUR BY HOUR
Higher radiant, more meteors: the pre-dawn hours win.
| LOCAL TIME | RADIANT ALTITUDE | DIRECTION |
|---|---|---|
| 10 PM | 5° | NNE |
| 11 PM | 10° | NNE |
| 12 AM | 17° | NNE |
| 1 AM | 24° | NE |
| 2 AM | 32° | NE |
| 3 AM | 40° | NE |
| 4 AM | 48° | NE |
| 5 AM | 54° | NNE |
HOW TO ACTUALLY SEE THEM
- Go after midnight; 2–5 AM is the prime window.Houston turns your side of Earth into the shower's windshield in the small hours.
- Leave the phone in your pocket for 20 minutes.Night vision takes that long to build, and one glance at a screen resets it to zero.
- No equipment. Eyes only: telescopes and binoculars see too little sky. A reclining chair and a blanket beat any optics.
SKY DARKNESS
Bortle 9Bright inner-city sky: expect only the Moon, planets, and a handful of the very brightest stars. Meteors reward darkness more than any other sky sight: a 30–60 minute drive away from the city glow improves the sky by a class or two and multiplies what you'll count.
SAME DAY
The same new Moon, twelve hours earlier
That same afternoon, a partial solar eclipse crosses 16 northern U.S. metros: it misses Houston, but it's the same new Moon that keeps this night moonless.
Same night, an eclipse in the afternoon →Common questions
When exactly should I watch?
Rates build after midnight and are best between 2 and 5 AM. True darkness in Houston runs from 9:31 PM to 5:21 AM that night, and the radiant is highest (56°) around 5:11 AM: the last dark hour is the strongest.
Where in the sky should I look?
Nowhere in particular: Perseids streak across the whole sky. Their radiant sits in the north-northeast in Perseus, 56° up at its best, and meteors look longest about 45° away from it. Lie back and take in as much sky as you can.
Is Houston dark enough?
Houston's city-center sky is roughly Bortle 9 (inner-city sky), so expect a fraction of the dark-sky rate downtown. Bright inner-city sky: expect only the Moon, planets, and a handful of the very brightest stars. A 30–60 minute drive away from the city glow improves the sky by a class or two and multiplies the meteors you'll count.
Will clouds block it?
The latest forecast shows 20% cloud cover over Houston in the core viewing hours. Forecasts firm up as the night approaches; check back the evening before for the final call.