Meteor Shower Calendar 2026
Every major shower of 2026 with peak nights, realistic rates, and (the thing most calendars skip) what the moon will be doing to your sky on peak night.
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Perseids: Night of August 12–13, 2026
Up to 100/hour · 11 PM until dawn, best 2–4 AM local time
Quadrantids
110/hrNight of January 3–4, 2026
The Quadrantids can match the Geminids at peak, but the peak is razor-thin (about six hours), so catching it depends on timing and longitude. Named for the defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis.
Moon on peak night: A bright waning gibbous moon interfered with the 2026 peak; 2027 conditions are better.
Lyrids
18/hrNight of April 21–22, 2026
The Lyrids end the annual 'meteor drought' between January and April. Modest rates (~18/hr) but reliable, with occasional bright fireballs, and a history of rare outbursts up to 100/hr.
Moon on peak night: A waxing crescent sets early on the 2026 peak night, leaving good dark-sky conditions.
Eta Aquariids
50/hrMorning of May 6, 2026
Debris from Halley's Comet, the Eta Aquariids are a pre-dawn shower of fast meteors that skim the atmosphere and leave long 'earthgrazer' streaks. Better from the southern US where the radiant rises higher.
Moon on peak night: A waning gibbous moon competes with the 2026 peak, so favor the darker mornings a few days after.
Southern Delta Aquariids
25/hrNight of July 29–30, 2026
A long, steady southern shower that overlaps the Perseids: faint but plentiful meteors, best from the southern US. During Perseid week, up to a third of the meteors you see are actually Delta Aquariids.
Moon on peak night: A full moon spoils the 2026 peak, but Delta Aquariids keep coming for weeks and overlap the moonless Perseid peak in mid-August.
Perseids
100/hrNight of August 12–13, 2026
The Perseids are the most-watched meteor shower of the year: up to 100 meteors per hour at peak, warm summer nights, and fast, bright meteors that often leave persistent trains. They are debris from comet Swift–Tuttle, which Earth crosses every August.
Moon on peak night: 2026 is a near-new moon year for the Perseids.
Orionids
20/hrNight of October 20–21, 2026
Halley's Comet's second annual gift: fast, sometimes fireball-rich meteors radiating from Orion, framed by the best constellations of the year. Rates around 20/hr with a broad, forgiving peak.
Moon on peak night: A waxing gibbous moon sets after midnight in 2026, so the pre-dawn peak hours stay dark.
Taurids (Southern & Northern)
7/hrNights of November 4–5 and 11–12, 2026
Low rates but the highest fireball fraction of any annual shower: the Taurids are why early November is 'fireball season.' Slow, bright, often orange meteors from comet Encke's broad debris stream.
Moon on peak night: The early-November 2026 peak has minimal moon interference in the evening hours.
Leonids
15/hrNight of November 17–18, 2026
The Leonids are famous for historic meteor storms (thousands per hour in 1833, 1966, 2001). In normal years expect ~15/hr of the fastest meteors of any shower, many leaving persistent trains.
Moon on peak night: New moon falls just after the 2026 peak, so expect excellent dark skies.
Geminids
150/hrNight of December 13–14, 2026
The Geminids are the strongest shower of the year, with up to 150 slow, bright, often colorful meteors per hour. Uniquely, they come from an asteroid (3200 Phaethon) rather than a comet, and they perform well even before midnight.
Moon on peak night: The 2026 peak coincides with a waxing crescent moon that sets by mid-evening, leaving dark skies for the prime hours.
Ursids
10/hrNight of December 22–23, 2026
The year's quiet finale: ~10 meteors per hour radiating from the Little Dipper. A northern-hemisphere-only shower for dedicated observers, with occasional outbursts to 25+/hr.
Moon on peak night: A waxing gibbous moon interferes in 2026, so watch after moonset in the pre-dawn hours.
Meteor shower basics
›Is there a meteor shower tonight?
Some shower is active on most nights of the year. The calendar above shows what's active now and when the next peak lands. Whether it's worth going out depends on the shower's rate, the moon, and your clouds: strong showers like the Perseids and Geminids are worth a dedicated trip; minor ones reward patience during their peak nights only.
›What time is best to watch a meteor shower?
After midnight and before dawn, in most cases. That's when your side of Earth rotates to face into the debris stream, like a car windshield catching rain. A few showers (notably the Geminids) also perform well in the late evening.
›Do I need a telescope to watch meteors?
No. A telescope actively hurts. Meteors streak across huge swaths of sky, so you want the widest view possible: your unaided eyes, a reclining chair, and 20 minutes of dark adaptation.
›How many meteors will I actually see?
The advertised ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) assumes perfect dark skies and the radiant overhead. Real counts are usually a third to half of that. From a dark rural site the Perseids might show 40–60/hour; from suburbia, 10–20. Moonlight can cut those numbers in half again, which is why our per-shower pages track moon interference.