A spectacular total solar eclipse will coincide with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 12-13. But will you be able to spot shooting stars in the false twilight of totality?
Perseids appear as Earth plows through the stream of debris shed by comet Swift-Tuttle. Up to 100 shooting stars may be seen each hour around its peak under ideal dark skies, as particles from the ancient comet collide with our atmosphere at speeds of 133,200 mph (214,365 km/h) to etch a fiery path through the summer night sky.
It’s an unmissable highlight of the skywatching calendar, supercharged in 2026 by the spectacle of a total solar eclipse, which will plunge millions across Greenland, Iceland and Spain into the darkness of an eerie twilight, as the moon crosses the face of the sun.
Is it possible to see shooting stars during totality?
Yes. The most brilliant Perseid shooting stars can shine bright enough to be spotted in the brief twilight of totality. But it’s all a question of timing.
“It would have to be a fireball that passed through the darkest portion of the sky,” Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society told Space.com in an email. “The Perseids usually produce about one fireball per three hours at night. That’s asking a lot for one of these bright meteors to appear during a 2-3 minute window. If anyone does see one, they had better go play the lottery asap!”
NASA Meteoroid Environments Office head Bill Cooke added his own word of caution, noting that the relatively bright sky during totality will likely hide all but the most brilliant Perseids from sight.
“Only Perseid fireballs will be visible,” Cooke told Space.com in an email. “Given the brightness and duration of the eclipse, you might see one if you’re extremely, extremely lucky. [The] most likely scenario is that you will see no meteors whatsoever.”
The odds are definitely stacked against you. But you never know. A piece of comet Swift-Tuttle could’ve broken away at just the right time, at just the right point in its orbit to meet a fiery end in Earth’s atmosphere, just as the sun slips from view. As for our advice? Keep your eyes locked firmly on the eclipse as it unfolds in the skies above you. There’ll be plenty of time for hunting Perseids later.
Want to capture gorgeous photos of the Aug. 12 cosmic doubleheader? Then be sure to read our expert guides to imaging a total solar eclipse, along with tips on photographing fast-moving meteors. You can also stay up to date with all the latest news and reports for the field with our total solar eclipse live blog!
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
