August 13, 2026 — New Moon
A night beneath the darkest sky in Colorado, during the peak of Earth's most prolific celestial show — and a new moon means nothing between you and infinity.
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.”
— Carl Sagan
Every August, Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle — a 16-mile-wide ball of ice and rock that orbits the Sun once every 133 years. As those tiny fragments collide with our atmosphere at 37 miles per second, they ignite into brilliant streaks across the sky.
The Perseids are the most reliable and prolific meteor shower of the year — producing up to 100 visible meteors per hour at peak, many with persistent trains that linger for seconds after the initial flash.
They appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus (hence the name), but they streak across the entire sky — meaning everywhere you look is a front-row seat.
Most years, the Perseids compete with moonlight. Not this year.
August 13, 2026 falls on a new moon — meaning zero lunar interference. The sky will be at its absolute darkest, and every faint meteor that would normally be washed out will be visible in full brilliance.
This alignment happens only once every several years during the Perseid peak. The last time conditions were this favorable was 2018. The next won't be until the 2030s.
Badger Basin sits at 9,000 feet in Park County, Colorado — one of the darkest populated areas in the state. The nearest city light is over 40 miles away. Out here, the Milky Way isn't a photograph — it's the ceiling.
This is a Bortle Class 2-3 sky — meaning you can see the zodiacal light, the gegenschein, and structure in the Milky Way with the naked eye. Light pollution is virtually nonexistent.
To protect this resource for everyone at the festival, we observe dark sky principles during the meteor viewing hours.
Use red-filtered lights only after sunset — they preserve night vision
Screen brightness to minimum, or use a red-shift app (Night Shift / f.lux)
No vehicle headlights after dark, except when parking — gates close at 11 PM
No white flashlights or lanterns in open areas during peak viewing
Give your eyes 20 minutes to fully adapt — then look up
Lie flat on the ground for the widest field of view — blankets encouraged
Arrive early. Set up camp in the daylight. As the sun drops behind the Rockies and the sky deepens from cobalt to obsidian, the dance floor opens.
Thursday is Jamtronic Night — live-infused electronic sets under an open sky featuring 3420, Lucid Vision, Eliptek+ and more. At 11 PM, amplified music gives way to ambient soundscapes for the remainder of the evening. No strobes. No lasers (just for now). Just low frequencies, open air, and a sky that refuses to stop moving.
See you at the meteor shower dance party. The ceiling is the Milky Way.
$30