GoKawiilThe first-ever report of the Perseid meteor shower came nearly 2,000 years ago, and the spectacular space event has enthralled observers of the night sky ever since. Tonight, the shower will hit its 2026 peak, with 50 to 100 meteors firing per hour. If you can’t make it to a viewing site, NASA is hosting a livestream.
The Perseid meteor livestream starts at 9 p.m. PT tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 12) on YouTube. NASA will broadcast real-time sky imagery from its Automated Lunar and Meteor Observatory at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Meteoroid experts from Marshall will host the livestream, which will include several guest speakers who will discuss the meteor shower, its history and other fun facts.
Perseids began its 2026 show on July 17, and it continues until Aug. 24, so if you’ve seen a meteor in the night sky here recently, there’s a good chance it was Perseids. The meteor shower peaks on the evening of Wednesday and into Thursday, when meteors will be coming at a rate of about one per minute.
NASA hasn’t announced how long the stream will last, but the stream’s name, Up All Night, suggests it’ll last for quite a while. It may be the best way for early birds to experience Perseids after waking up.
This Perseid fireball was seen over a lake in Ontario around dusk. “It was hot and muggy even after the sun went down, with lots of haze on the horizon but this Perseid was so bright it didn’t matter,” photographer Malcolm Park said. Spaceweather.com/Malcolm Park
A full schedule of live streams for NASA
NASA typically simulcasts its streams across its YouTube channel, Twitch channel and NASA Plus, which is often also streamed on Netflix. However, Wednesday is chock-full of interesting things to look at, including a solar eclipse and even a planet parade. It seems NASA’s strategy is to divide and conquer, so the Perseids stream is only appearing on YouTube.
The agency is also hosting a livestream for the solar eclipse on NASA Plus, Netflix, X, Amazon Prime and YouTube on Wednesday. The solar eclipse lasts all day and is visible to the northern third of the US. Those outside the path can watch the eclipse online, at least.