The radiant is in Perseus, which becomes increasingly well placed as the night progresses for Northern Hemisphere observers.
The best general window is:
Late evening through dawn on September 8–9
Conditions improve toward the hours before sunrise as the radiant climbs higher.
And this year we get lucky.
The Moon is only a very thin waning crescent approaching New Moon, which means moonlight interference is minimal.
That makes the 2026 peak considerably more attractive than a year when a bright Moon happens to be sitting in the sky washing out faint meteors.
Find somewhere dark.
Lie back.
Give your eyes twenty to thirty minutes to adapt.
Then wait.
Do not spend those twenty minutes checking your phone every ninety seconds because your pupils are not going to cooperate if you repeatedly blast them with a glowing screen.
🌙 THE MOON DISAPPEARS
This is the other major reason I like this week.
The Moon begins as a waning crescent and becomes thinner each morning until it reaches New Moon on September 11.
That means evening skies are essentially moon-free throughout the week.
For deep-sky observers, this is wonderful.
Galaxies that looked washed out two weeks ago become easier.
Nebulae gain contrast.
The Milky Way becomes richer.
Fainter stars return.
And if you live somewhere genuinely dark, the sky begins looking less like a black ceiling decorated with stars and more like the enormous three-dimensional place it actually is.
🌘 September 7–10
Waning Crescent Moon
The Moon is primarily a pre-dawn object during the beginning of the week.
Each morning it becomes thinner and moves closer to the Sun.
For evening observers, this gives us beautifully dark conditions almost immediately after twilight ends.
If you enjoy photographing a delicate crescent Moon, look toward the eastern sky before sunrise early in the week.
Earthshine may also be visible, allowing you to see the dark portion of the lunar disc faintly illuminated by sunlight reflected from Earth.
That effect never gets old.
You are literally looking at moonlight produced by Earthlight.
