There’s something magical about shooting stars that brings out the kid in all of us. No matter your age, spotting a meteor streak across the night sky never gets old.
This month, Oregon skywatchers have the chance to catch nature’s fireworks show. The Perseid meteor shower runs from July 17 through August 23, hitting its peak around August 12-13.
The American Meteor Society call the Perseids the most popular meteor shower for good reason. They light up warm summer nights each year with brilliant streaks that can outshine the stars. Though commonly called “shooting stars,” the Perseids are actually pieces of comet 109P/Swift-TuttleTuttle — a massive, 6 trillion-ton chunk of ice and rock with a 16-mile-wide nucleus. These bits of comet “range from the size of a grain of sand up to the size of a golf ball,” says Alton Luken, head of operations at Pine Mountain Observatory. “You’d be surprised how much energy is liberated from a grain of sand as it plows into the Earth’s atmosphere and superheats and converts its mass to energy. So, most of these meteors are just little grains of sand, but they show up wonderfully.” We see this spectacular display each year when Earth passes through the comet’s scattered debris trail.
The shower gets its name from the hero Perseus, the constellation from which the meteors appear to radiate. Under dark skies away from bright lights, you might normally see 50 to 75 meteors per hour at peak activity. This year, though, the waning moon will wash out some of the fainter streaks, leaving only the brightest meteors visible — with a possibility for about a dozen per hour.
Still, even a dozen shooting stars in an hour beats most nights, and those bright Perseids are worth staying up for.
Prime viewing spots
Bend sits right at the doorstep of the world’s largest dark sky sanctuary. The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary spans 2.5 million acres of high desert, where starry nights are preserved for both people and wildlife. A short drive east puts one under some of the clearest night skies they’ll ever see, making it easy to watch the Perseid meteor shower.
Luken points out that the best way to see a meteor shower is with the naked eye. “These little grains of sand streaking through the sky and lighting up are so fast and tiny. It’s a very limited field of view.” Still, for those seeking an educational experience about meteor showers and the night sky, three spots closer to Bend offer guided stargazing programs: Prineville Reservoir State Park, Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory, and Pine Mountain Observatory.
Guided programs
Prineville Reservoir State Park sits about 50 miles northeast of Bend and made history in 2021 as Oregon’s first state park to receive International Dark Sky Park certification. Rangers at the 291-acre park host free stargazing programs from Memorial Day through Labor Day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Programs are free and begin after dark —generally around 9:30pm— and run for about an hour to 90 minutes.
Pine Mountain Observatory, located 34 miles southeast of Bend, is run by the University of Oregon and welcomes everyone from curious beginners to serious astronomy enthusiasts. Knowledgeable guides help visitors explore the night sky using various telescopes during public star parties and educational programs that typically run from sunset until 11pm throughout summer. Visitors can bring their own telescopes. Camping is available nearby.
Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory provides nighttime observatory visits featuring telescope viewing, guided constellation tours and educational presentations. The Observatory welcomes the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays year-round, with extra programs on Thursdays and Sundays.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 31, 2025.
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