Almanac · Meteor showers
Meteor showers
Next up when this page was built: the Leonids, peaking on Tue 17 Nov 2026 at 23:42 UTC, with the Moon first quarter, 55% lit.
2026
| Shower | Peak (UTC) | Best rate (ZHR) | Moon at peak | Radiant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 110 | 100% lit | Never rises south of 40.5°S | |
| Lyrids | 18 | 36% lit | Never rises south of 56.7°S | |
| Eta Aquariids | 50 | 81% lit | Never rises north of 89°N | |
| Delta Aquariids | 25 | 96% lit | Never rises north of 73.6°N | |
| Perseids | 100 | 0% lit | Never rises south of 32°S | |
| Draconids | 10 | 3% lit | Never rises south of 36°S | |
| Orionids | 23 | 79% lit | Never rises south of 74.4°S | |
| Leonids | 15 | 55% lit | Never rises south of 68.4°S | |
| Geminids | 150 | 25% lit | Never rises south of 57.6°S | |
| Ursids | 10 | 98% lit | Never rises south of 14.1°S |
2027
| Shower | Peak (UTC) | Best rate (ZHR) | Moon at peak | Radiant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 110 | 12% lit | Never rises south of 40.5°S | |
| Lyrids | 18 | 95% lit | Never rises south of 56.7°S | |
| Eta Aquariids | 50 | 0% lit | Never rises north of 89°N | |
| Delta Aquariids | 25 | 4% lit | Never rises north of 73.6°N | |
| Perseids | 100 | 86% lit | Never rises south of 32°S | |
| Draconids | 10 | 67% lit | Never rises south of 36°S | |
| Orionids | 23 | 58% lit | Never rises south of 74.4°S | |
| Leonids | 15 | 80% lit | Never rises south of 68.4°S | |
| Geminids | 150 | 98% lit | Never rises south of 57.6°S | |
| Ursids | 10 | 21% lit | Never rises south of 14.1°S |
2025, past peaks
| Shower | Peak (UTC) | Best rate (ZHR) | Moon at peak | Radiant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 110 | 16% lit | Never rises south of 40.5°S | |
| Lyrids | 18 | 34% lit | Never rises south of 56.7°S | |
| Eta Aquariids | 50 | 65% lit | Never rises north of 89°N | |
| Delta Aquariids | 25 | 39% lit | Never rises north of 73.6°N | |
| Perseids | 100 | 85% lit | Never rises south of 32°S | |
| Draconids | 10 | 96% lit | Never rises south of 36°S | |
| Orionids | 23 | 0% lit | Never rises south of 74.4°S | |
| Leonids | 15 | 6% lit | Never rises south of 68.4°S | |
| Geminids | 150 | 27% lit | Never rises south of 57.6°S | |
| Ursids | 10 | 6% lit | Never rises south of 14.1°S |
The ZHR is what one observer would count in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; nobody sees that many. Each shower’s page works out how many you would, latitude by latitude, on the night of the peak, with that night’s Moon, and links the map to the radiant at the peak.
How it is worked out: each peak is the instant the Sun reaches the solar longitude the International Meteor Organization’s Meteor Shower Calendar gives for the shower’s maximum, from Meeus’s solar theory referred to the J2000 equinox; the Moon is the map’s own, checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory. Showers can peak hours early or late, and some years bring outbursts no table predicts. The method and its measured error.