IMO / AMS calendar · moon computed for every peak

Meteor Shower Tonight: What's Active and When It Peaks

Q: Is there a meteor shower tonight?

Yes — the Draconids are active tonight, peaking on the night of October 8 (Oct 8–9), with a zenithal hourly rate around 5. Outside the major showers, a dark sky still shows 5–10 sporadic meteors an hour after midnight.

Q: What time is best to watch a meteor shower?

After midnight to the start of dawn, when your side of Earth faces into the stream and the radiant is high. The Geminids and Draconids are the exceptions that perform in the evening. Give your eyes 20 minutes to dark-adapt and settle in for at least an hour.

Q: Where in the sky should I look?

Not at the radiant — meteors near it are short. Look 40–60° away from the radiant and about halfway up the sky, with the widest view you can get. A reclining chair facing away from the moon and any city glow is the whole technique.

Q: How many meteors will I actually see?

The ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) assumes a perfect dark sky with the radiant overhead. From a typical rural site expect a third to a half of it; from a suburb, a tenth. A Perseid peak (ZHR ~100) from a Bortle 4 sky is 30–50 an hour; from a city, a handful.

Q: Does the moon matter?

More than anything except clouds. A full moon near the peak hides all but the brightest meteors, and the same shower can be superb one year and a write-off the next. The calendar on this page computes the moon's illumination for every peak night in every year it lists, so check the "moon at peak" column before you plan the drive.

Q: What is the difference between a meteor shower and the northern lights?

Meteors are dust from comets burning up 50–80 miles up; the aurora is the solar wind lighting the upper atmosphere near the magnetic poles. They are unrelated, but the best nights for both are the same: dark, clear, moonless. Check the northern lights forecast on this site before a late-autumn meteor night in the northern states.

Q: How do I photograph a meteor shower?

Wide lens, f/2.8 or faster, ISO 1600–3200, 10–20 second exposures, shot continuously on an intervalometer for an hour or more, pointed 45° from the radiant. Phones: night mode on a tripod, 10–30 seconds, and patience — most frames will be empty.

The major showers with peak nights, rates, radiants and the moon for every year we hold published dates for — plus tonight's cloud cover for your ZIP.

Draconids

Active tonight

Oct 8–9

Peak night

To peak

October 8

ZHR 5

Peak rate

ideal dark sky

Moon tonight

Waning crescent

Tonight

The Draconids are active tonight

Peak night Oct 8–9 (October 8, 2026). Radiant in Draco (high in the north-west after dusk); best evening, right after dark — unusual for a shower. Moon at the peak: 7% lit, excellent — near new moon. Usually quiet, but the Draconids have produced storms of thousands per hour (1933, 1946) and outbursts in 2011 and 2018. Slow, easy-to-photograph meteors.

Active window October 6 – October 10: rates ramp up over the final week and fall off faster after the peak. Check tonight's clouds below, then find a dark sky and look about halfway up, 40–60° from the radiant.

Will it be clear tonight where you are?

The calendar

Major meteor showers of 2026

Shower	Peak night 2026	ZHR	Radiant	Moon at peak	Best time
Quadrantids	January 3	80	Boötes	100% · poor	Predawn, 2–6 am
Lyrids	April 22	18	Lyra	33% · good	After midnight to dawn
Eta Aquariids	May 5	50	Aquarius	83% · poor	The last two hours before dawn
Perseids	August 12	100	Perseus	0% · excellent	Midnight to 4 am
Draconids active now	October 8	5	Draco	7% · excellent	Evening, right after dark
Orionids	October 21 13 days	20	Orion	81% · poor	After midnight to dawn
Taurids (Southern and Northern)	November 5 28 days	5	Taurus	17% · good	Late evening to early morning
Leonids	November 17 40 days	15	Leo	57% · fair	After 1 am to dawn
Geminids	December 13	150	Gemini	21% · good	From 9–10 pm through 2 am
Ursids	December 22	10	Ursa Minor	98% · poor	Predawn

2027 peak nights

Shower	Peak night 2027	ZHR	Radiant	Moon at peak	Best time
Quadrantids	January 3	80	Boötes	17% · good	Predawn, 2–6 am
Lyrids	April 22	18	Lyra	97% · poor	After midnight to dawn
Eta Aquariids	May 5	50	Aquarius	0% · excellent	The last two hours before dawn
Perseids	August 12	100	Perseus	79% · poor	Midnight to 4 am
Draconids	October 8	5	Draco	59% · fair	Evening, right after dark
Orionids	October 21	20	Orion	60% · fair	After midnight to dawn
Taurids (Southern and Northern)	November 6	5	Taurus	53% · fair	Late evening to early morning
Leonids	November 17	15	Leo	84% · poor	After 1 am to dawn
Geminids	December 14	150	Gemini	98% · poor	From 9–10 pm through 2 am
Ursids	December 22	10	Ursa Minor	29% · good	Predawn

Peak dates from the International Meteor Organization's Meteor Shower Calendar for each year, converted from IMO's UT maximum to the evening date of the peak night; the peak hour shifts a few hours year to year. Moon illumination computed for 11 pm local on the peak evening.

Shower by shower

The ten major showers, and what makes each one worth it

Draconids

Peak Oct 8–9 · active October 6 – October 10

ZHR 520 km/sComet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner

Usually quiet, but the Draconids have produced storms of thousands per hour (1933, 1946) and outbursts in 2011 and 2018. Slow, easy-to-photograph meteors.

Radiant: Draco (high in the north-west after dusk). Best: Evening, right after dark — unusual for a shower.

Orionids

Peak Oct 21–22 · active October 2 – November 7

ZHR 2066 km/sComet 1P/Halley

Halley's second annual gift. Fast meteors with a broad, multi-night peak — a good shower to combine with autumn aurora season in the northern states.

Radiant: Orion, near the red star Betelgeuse. Best: After midnight to dawn.

Taurids (Southern and Northern)

Peak Nov 5–12 (two broad peaks) · active September 20 – December 10

ZHR 528 km/sComet 2P/Encke

Low rates but famous for slow, bright fireballs — the "Halloween fireballs." Encke's stream is clumpy, so some years deliver noticeably more bright meteors than others.

Radiant: Taurus, near the Pleiades. Best: Late evening to early morning.

Leonids

Peak Nov 17–18 · active November 6 – November 30

ZHR 1571 km/sComet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle

The fastest meteors of any annual shower, and the source of the great storms of 1833, 1966 and 1999–2002. Quiet until the parent comet returns in the 2030s.

Radiant: Leo (the Sickle), rising after midnight. Best: After 1 am to dawn.

Geminids

Peak Dec 13–14 · active December 4 – December 17

ZHR 15035 km/sAsteroid 3200 Phaethon

The richest shower of the year, with slow, bright, often colored meteors, and the only major shower from an asteroid rather than a comet. Worth the cold.

Radiant: Gemini, near the bright star Castor. Best: From 9–10 pm through 2 am — the radiant is up early.

Ursids

Peak Dec 22–23 · active December 17 – December 26

ZHR 1033 km/sComet 8P/Tuttle

The solstice shower — overlooked because of the holidays, with occasional outbursts (1945, 1986) reaching 50+ per hour.

Radiant: Ursa Minor, near the Little Dipper's bowl. Best: Predawn; the radiant is circumpolar, so all night works.

Quadrantids

Peak Jan 3–4 · active December 28 – January 12

ZHR 8041 km/sAsteroid 2003 EH1

One of the year's strongest showers but with a peak only about six hours wide, so timing and a clear sky matter more than for any other. Bright, occasionally blue fireballs.

Radiant: Boötes (northern sky, below the Big Dipper's handle). Best: Predawn, 2–6 am — the radiant is highest before dawn.

Lyrids

Peak Apr 22–23 · active April 14 – April 30

ZHR 1849 km/sComet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

The oldest shower on record — Chinese observers noted it in 687 BC. Modest rates but occasional bright fireballs with persistent trains.

Radiant: Lyra, near the bright star Vega. Best: After midnight to dawn.

Eta Aquariids

Peak May 5–6 · active April 19 – May 28

ZHR 5066 km/sComet 1P/Halley

Halley's Comet debris. Strong in the Southern Hemisphere; from the US the radiant stays low, so expect long "earthgrazer" meteors skimming the horizon in the hour before twilight.

Radiant: Aquarius (low in the south-east before dawn). Best: The last two hours before dawn.

Perseids

Peak Aug 12–13 · active July 17 – August 24

ZHR 10059 km/sComet 109P/Swift–Tuttle

The most-watched shower in the Northern Hemisphere: warm nights, high rates, and plenty of fireballs. The moon makes or breaks it — the calendar on this page computes the phase for each year's peak.

Radiant: Perseus (north-east, rising through the night). Best: Midnight to 4 am; a few earthgrazers in the evening.

A Perseid meteor streaks past the Milky Way over Spruce Knob, West Virginia — A Perseid over Spruce Knob, West Virginia, during the 2021 shower — a 30-second exposure. “Perseid Meteor Shower (NHQ202108100009)” — Bill Ingalls — Public domain

Field guide

How to watch a meteor shower

Dark, wide, and moon-free

Drive out of city glow, put the moon behind a hill or wait for it to set, and use the widest view of sky you can find. The stargazing forecast page ranks dark-sky sites nationwide.

After midnight

Rates climb through the small hours as your side of Earth turns into the stream. Plan 1 am–dawn for the Perseids, Orionids, Leonids and Quadrantids; 10 pm onward for the Geminids.

Look away from the radiant

A reclining chair, a blanket, no phone screen. Meteors appear anywhere; the longest streaks are 40–60° from the radiant. Give it a full hour — they come in bunches.

Common questions

Meteor shower FAQ

Is there a meteor shower tonight?

What time is best to watch a meteor shower?

Where in the sky should I look?

How many meteors will I actually see?

Does the moon matter?

What is the difference between a meteor shower and the northern lights?

How do I photograph a meteor shower?

Cloud cover and sun times from Open-Meteo, read live in your browser; moon phase computed locally. Hero image: “Perseid Meteor Shower (NHQ202108100009)” — Bill Ingalls — Public domain. Related: stargazing forecast tonight · northern lights tonight · aurora forecast by state.