Reference
Meteor showers 2026 and 2027
When to look, how many to expect at best, and whether the Moon will get in the way.
See which shower is near its peak tonight
| Shower | Peak | ZHR | Radiant in | Active | Moon lit 2026 | Moon lit 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 4 Jan | 80 | Bootes | 28 Dec to 12 Jan | 99% | 13% |
| Lyrids | 23 Apr | 18 | Hercules | 14 Apr to 30 Apr | 38% | 95% |
| Eta Aquariids | 6 May | 50 | Aquarius | 19 Apr to 28 May | 84% | 0% |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | 31 Jul | 25 | Aquarius | 12 Jul to 23 Aug | 98% | 9% |
| Perseids | 13 Aug | 110 | Cassiopeia | 17 Jul to 24 Aug | 0% | 84% |
| Draconids | 9 Oct | 5 | Draco | 6 Oct to 10 Oct | 3% | 64% |
| Southern Taurids | 6 Nov | 7 | Taurus | 20 Sep to 20 Nov | 11% | 47% |
| Orionids | 22 Oct | 20 | Orion | 2 Oct to 7 Nov | 80% | 58% |
| Leonids | 18 Nov | 15 | Leo | 6 Nov to 30 Nov | 55% | 82% |
| Geminids | 14 Dec | 150 | Gemini | 4 Dec to 20 Dec | 21% | 100% |
What ZHR means
ZHR is the zenithal hourly rate: how many meteors one person could see in an hour with the radiant straight overhead under a perfect dark sky. Real counts are lower, often much lower, because of light pollution, a low radiant, clouds and moonlight. Treat it as a way to compare showers, not a promise.
Moonlight and the peak
A bright Moon washes out the fainter meteors. The two right-hand columns show how much of the Moon is lit at the peak in each year, computed from the Moon's position. A shower with a thin Moon at its peak is the better bet that year. These dates use the IMO's 2027 calendar for both years, and the IMO says peak dates can shift by about a day between years, so the Moon column is a guide, not a forecast.
How high the radiant gets from six cities
The radiant is the point the meteors seem to stream from. The higher it climbs, the more of the sky the shower covers. This is the highest the radiant ever gets at each place (from its declination and the place's latitude), not its height at the peak hour.
| Shower | Pune | New York | London | Tromsø | Tokyo | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 60° | 82° | 87° | 69° | 77° | 7° |
| Lyrids | 75° | 83° | 72° | 54° | 88° | 22° |
| Eta Aquariids | 70° | 48° | 37° | 19° | 53° | 57° |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | 55° | 33° | 22° | 4° | 38° | 72° |
| Perseids | 51° | 73° | 84° | 78° | 68° | never rises |
| Draconids | 53° | 75° | 86° | 76° | 70° | never rises |
| Southern Taurids | 86° | 64° | 53° | 35° | 69° | 41° |
| Orionids | 87° | 65° | 54° | 36° | 70° | 40° |
| Leonids | 87° | 71° | 60° | 42° | 76° | 34° |
| Geminids | 76° | 82° | 71° | 53° | 87° | 23° |
Where the numbers come from
Peak dates, rates and radiants are carried from the IMO's working list of visual meteor showers. Only ten of its 39 rows are used here, the best known ones. Moon fractions and radiant heights are computed.
Sources
- IMO Working List of Visual Meteor Showers, 2027 calendar. Read on 2026-10-04
- astronomy-engine. The MIT licensed library that does the calculations, run on the page's build machine and in the app