Web PlanetariumMeteor shower calendar 2026–2027Peak times, expected rates and moonlight
- Expected rate
- Up to about 5–10 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 81% lit, waxing
- Expected rate
- Up to about 2–3 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 10% lit, waning
- Expected rate
- Up to about 2 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 13% lit, waxing
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 5 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 55% lit, waxing
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 60 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 25% lit, waxing
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 15–20 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 12% lit, waning
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 5 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 95% lit, waning
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 5–10 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 0% lit
- Expected rate
- Up to about 5 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 3% lit
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 35 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 86% lit, waxing
- Expected rate
- Up to about 3–5 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 57% lit, waning
- Expected rate
- Up to about 3–4 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 48% lit, waxing
- Expected rate
- Up to about 1–2 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 99% lit
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 3–5 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 80% lit, waning
- Your time
- Expected rate
- Up to about 25 per hour (NAOJ, dark skies in Japan)
- Moon at peak
- 98% lit
Rates are NAOJ’s estimate of the most meteors per hour at the best time, under a dark sky where the Milky Way is visible. Under city lights you see only a fraction. Dates marked JST are Japan dates (UTC+9); in the Americas and Europe the same event may fall on the previous day.
The three major showers
- PerseidsPeaks every year in mid-August
- GeminidsPeaks every year in mid-December
- QuadrantidsPeaks every year in early January
Other showers
Orionids
Peaks in late October. The radiant is in Orion.
Leonids
Peaks in mid-November. The radiant is in Leo.
Lyrids
Peaks in late April. The radiant is in Lyra.
Eta Aquariids
Peaks in early May. The radiant is in Aquarius.
Southern Delta Aquariids
Peaks in late July to early August. The radiant is in Aquarius.
Southern Taurids
Peaks in early November. The radiant is in Taurus.
Northern Taurids
Peaks in mid-November. The radiant is in Taurus.
What is a meteor shower?
Comets and similar bodies leave trails of dust along their orbits. Earth passes through the same trail at the same time each year, so meteors are frequent then. The meteors seem to shoot out from one point, the radiant, and the shower is named after the constellation it lies in.
Sources
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), October 2026 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), November 2026 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, Geminids, December 2026 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, Quadrantids, January 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), April 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), May 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), August 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), October 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), November 2027 (in Japanese)
- NAOJ, sky guide (Hoshizora Jōhō), December 2027 (in Japanese)
Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Dates and times are from NAOJ, checked on 2026-09-23. NAOJ bases meteor shower peaks on predictions by the International Meteor Organization (IMO). Moon illumination, radiant heights and the “See the sky” times are calculated by this site.