The Perseids meteor shower is an annual celestial show that can be best way for casual stargazers to witness a meteor shower, as the frequency of the Perseids can be as many as a meteor every few minutes during its busiest time.
That’s what happened on August 12th, 2023. It was a Saturday and a new moon, and media outlets like Z107.7 and some slightly larger ones like the LA Times created a media storm, informing folks that the hi-desert and Joshua Tree National Park as is one of the best destinations to watch the shower.
The hi-desert’s dark skies and proximity to major cities caused visitation to the National Park to hit unprecedented levels. At its peak, the Joshua Tree entrance to the park saw 600 cars per hour, and the usually slow south Cottonwood entrance ran 820 cars through its gates. The line of headlights seemed endless as 800 cars per hour exited the park at 3AM, jamming up Highway 62 and roads like Alta Loma until after sunrise.
This year, you may not see as many new stories pumping up the basin as the place to be to see the Perseids. The shower is expected to peak from August 10th to the 12th. It’s a weekend but one with a quarter moon, meaning the visibility of the meteor shower will be significantly lessened.
National Park staff is still gearing up for the potential surge which could see stargazers from all over the state descend into the basin, especially if cooler weather in the evenings continues.
If you plan on going into the park – plan well in advance and be prepared to be sitting in line entering and exiting the park.
If you want to avoid the line, the Morongo Basin has a pretty good view of the sky from just about anywhere. Getting away from ambient light is always a good idea, but your backyard or front door step can be just as good to catch a glimpse of the show.
If you really want to get out in nature for the Perseids, there are lots of free alternatives to the National Park – we’ll have that story coming later this week. In the meantime, The National Park will be preparing for the celestial event, which last year saw a single day record-breaking 160,000 dollars in park fees collected from star seekers.
Previously reported:
