Topline<\/p>\n
Skywatchers across the U.S. have two compelling reasons to look up on Aug. 12 and into the early hours of Aug. 13. While Europe will experience a total solar eclipse, millions of Americans will instead witness a partial solar eclipse followed by the annual Perseid meteor shower, creating an unusual back-to-back celestial spectacle. Although the eclipse will be modest compared with the total eclipses seen in 2017 and 2024, favorable weather and an almost perfectly moonless night could make this one of the most memorable astronomy events of the year. The deepest eclipse will be from Maine and Alaska, while areas with low light pollution will have the best views for the Perseids. Here\u2019s where, when and how to catch both events.<\/p>\n
A partial solar eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower will create a rare double sky event on Aug. 12\u201313. (Photo by Gary Hershorn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty ImagesTimeline<\/p>\n
Wednesday, Aug. 12Partial solar eclipse in Alaska (7:34\u20139:31 a.m. AKDT and the contiguous U.S. (10:27 a.m. MDT (Montana\/North Dakota) to 2:52 p.m. EDT (Maine)<\/p>\n
Thursday, Aug. 13Perseid meteor shower peaks between 2\u20134 a.m. local time, with up to 100 meteors per hour possible under dark skies.<\/p>\n
U.S. States And Cities To See The Partial Eclipse<\/p>\n
Twenty-six U.S. states will see at least some of the partial solar eclipse on Aug. 12 \u2014 most in early afternoon \u2014 but across much of that area the moon will cover only a tiny fraction of the sun. The point at which the event should be obvious through solar eclipse glasses is a 10% eclipse. That puts Alaska, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and parts of New York firmly in play, with the deepest views in Fairbanks, Alaska, and northern Maine. New York City sits on the boundary. Farther southwest, including much of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the eclipse becomes progressively shallower and less visually rewarding. <\/p>\n
All observers must wear ISO 12312-2-certified eclipse glasses for every stage of the partial solar eclipse. Never look at the sun through binoculars, cameras or telescopes unless they have a securely fitted solar filter.<\/p>\n
Data comes from TimeAndDate.com<\/a>, which provides exact eclipse times for any location.<\/p>\n A map showing the maximum eclipse obscuration during the solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. The U.K. will see over 90% of the sun blocked by the moon, but is outside the path of totality.<\/p>\n Michael Zeiler\/EclipseAtlas.comWhere To See The Partial Solar Eclipse And The Perseid Meteor Shower<\/p>\n For most Americans, this won\u2019t rival the spectacular total eclipses of 2017 or 2024. Even so, it\u2019s a rare chance to watch the moon visibly bite into the sun before darkness falls and attention turns to the night\u2019s second celestial event. The best U.S. locations for the complete double event will be rural areas of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and upstate New York. They will see a noticeable partial eclipse during the afternoon and, after dark, will also offer relatively easy access to darker skies for the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. For the best places to see it, find a location that looks dark on a light pollution map or find a Dark Sky Place<\/a> (U.S.\/global), a Dark Sky Preserve<\/a> (Canada), a Starlight Destination<\/a> (global) or a Dark Sky Discovery Site<\/a> (U.K.). <\/p>\n Just hours after the eclipse, the Perseids reach their peak beneath one of the darkest skies in years.<\/p>\n gettyThe Year\u2019s Best Meteor Shower<\/p>\n Just hours after the eclipse, the Perseids reach their peak beneath one of the darkest skies in years. Because the new moon coincides almost exactly with the shower\u2019s maximum, moonlight won\u2019t wash out faint meteors, making 2026 one of the best Perseid displays in recent memory. Under dark skies, expect 60 to 100 meteors per hour, including bright fireballs. Activity increases after midnight and peaks before dawn on Aug. 13, when the constellation Perseus climbs high in the northeastern sky. Although the meteors appear to radiate from Perseus, they can streak across any part of the sky. The meteors are created by tiny fragments left behind by Comet 109P\/Swift-Tuttle, which burn up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere at around 37 miles per second (59 km\/s), according to the American Meteor Society<\/a>. For the best views, give your eyes 20\u201330 minutes to adapt, and look up after midnight using only the naked eye.<\/p>\n FURTHER READINGForbesYour Ultimate Travel Guide To The 2026 Total Solar EclipseBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesYour Ultimate Guide To Stargazing And Astronomy In 2026By Jamie Carter<\/a>Forbes7 Spectacular Stargazing Events To See This SummerBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesThe Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Today: When To WatchBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesComet Tonight: How To See Comet 10P\/Tempel 2 Now From Where You AreBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Skywatchers across the U.S. have two compelling reasons to look up on Aug. 12 and into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1135438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3844],"tags":[308748,297398,308749,287506,308747,143283,128838,90961,298890,70,45782,413,16,15],"class_list":["post-1135437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-alaska-eclipse","tag-august-12-eclipse","tag-dark-sky-locations","tag-eclipse-glasses","tag-maine-eclipse","tag-meteor-shower-peak","tag-partial-solar-eclipse","tag-perseid-meteor-shower","tag-perseids-2026","tag-science","tag-solar-eclipse","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117053156657689036","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1135437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1135438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1135437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1135437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1135437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}