Ready for one of the best meteor showers this year? The Perseids have already been producing shooting stars overhead, but starting on Sunday and going through Monday, they’ll be at peak viewership, says KQED. At that point, they’ll produce up to 100 meteors an hour, which means you have plenty of room to make grand wishes and then dwindle down to tiny detail wishes, and then even have some wishes left over. But! You won’t be able to stay in San Francisco to watch this meteor shower. You’re gonna have to find yourself some dark skies. Here’s the information you need to have a good Perseids viewing.
RECOMMENDED: There’s more awesome stargazing ahead this year.
Where should San Franciscans go to see the Perseids?
KQED lists some great parks, beaches and hillsides to try to evade city lights. These are all a short drive away from San Francisco. In the South Bay, try Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill. Down the peninsula, look for Skyline Boulevard, Montara Beach and Pescadero. In the North Bay, Bodega Bay and the Point Reyes National Seashore provide great viewing. But our favorite is Tilden Park in Berkeley; the Sunol Regional Wilderness and Mount Diablo are two other great East Bay choices.
What time should we get there?
Between midnight and dawn, during the overnight period between August 11 and 12, are your best bets.
What do we do when we get there?
Bring a camp chair and a blanket and be prepared to lean your head backwards for a long time. If you don’t have clear skies (you don’t want clouds), then give up and make some s’mores. But if your skies are clear, patiently wait for your eyes to adjust (20–30 mins) and make sure your cell phone’s in your pocket so it doesn’t interfere with your embracing of the darkness.
Which direction should we look?
Look towards the northeast horizon. The constellation Perseus will rise, along with the Perseids show which is named after it. The meteor shower is formed out of pieces that drift off of the Swift-Tuttle comet (discovered in 1862 by a guy named Swift and separately by a guy named Tuttle: Tuttle’s probably still pissed it’s not the Tuttle-Swift Comet), which last passed by in 1992 and won’t come back again within naked-eye-range until 2126.