Meteor Shower Calendar 2026: When’s the Next Meteor Shower?
This guide has everything you need to know about the upcoming meteor showers — including the dates of activity, best time to view, radiant location, and number of shooting stars per hour. We also provide tips on observing meteors in the sky and answer the most popular questions about shooting stars. If you want to have a handy meteor shower calendar in your pocket, download the Sky Tonight app.
Contents
Best Meteor Showers 2026
In the list below, we’ve included notable meteor showers that will occur in 2026. All of them have a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of at least 10 meteors per hour. We’ve added a star emoji to particularly promising showers with favorable observation conditions.
Quadrantids’ peak: January 3–4
- Meteors/hour: up to 80
- Meteor color: yellow and orange
- Moon illumination: 99%
- Radiant location: Bootes
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
The first meteor shower of the year — the mighty Quadrantids — is a marvelous sight to see. Under suitable conditions, this meteor stream can provide dozens of shooting stars per hour. Unfortunately, the peak of the Quadrantids in 2026 coincides with a Full Moon, which will significantly reduce the number of visible meteors (to about 10 per hour). Our advice is to try to hide the Full Moon behind a tree or a tall building to minimise the glare from the Moon. Also, continue your meteor hunt until January 12, as the Quadrantids are known to produce bright fireballs even after the peak.
Lyrids’ peak: April 22–23 🌟
- Meteors/hour: up to 18
- Meteor color: white and blue
- Moon illumination: 38%
- Radiant location: Lyra
- Visible from: everywhere, but favors the Northern Hemisphere
According to the International Meteor Organization, the Lyrids are a medium-strength meteor shower that can occasionally produce bright fireballs. In 2026, viewing conditions are fine: the waxing crescent Moon won’t be too much of a problem. It’s better to start looking for the Lyrids’ meteors after about 22:30 local time in mid-northern sites and after midnight in mid-southern sites.
Eta Aquariids’ peak: May 5–6
- Meteors/hour: up to 50
- Meteor color: white
- Moon illumination: 82%
- Radiant location: Aquarius
- Visible from: everywhere
On a clear dark night, the Eta Aquariids can produce up to 50 meteors per hour if you watch them from the southern latitudes. North of the equator, you can see 10–30 shooting stars per hour. In 2026, the Eta Aquariids will reach their peak just five days after the Full Moon — the bright Moon will be above the horizon for most of the night, washing out most of the fainter meteors. To improve your viewing conditions, try blocking the moonlight with a tree or building. The best time to observe the Eta Aquariids is in the hours before dawn.
Southern Delta Aquariids’ peak: July 30–31
- Meteors/hour: up to 25
- Meteor color: white
- Moon illumination: 98%
- Radiant location: Aquarius
- Visible from: everywhere, but favors the Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Delta Aquariids are another prolific meteor shower that is best observed from the Southern Hemisphere. Its meteors are quite faint and hard to spot under imperfect observation conditions. In 2026, the observation conditions will be far from perfect, as the Moon will be almost fully lit on the peak night. Since these meteors are generally faint, the moonlight will make spotting them much harder than usual. As always, try to block the Moon's glare with a building, tree, or hill. Additionally, the Delta Aquariids are known for their steady activity over several weeks, so another option is to view them after the peak.
Perseids’ peak: August 12–13 🌟
- Meteors/hour: up to 100
- Meteor color: white
- Moon illumination: 0%
- Radiant location: Perseus
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
The Perseids are rightfully considered the best meteor shower of the year north of the equator: they peak during warm August nights and produce lots of swift and bright meteors. In 2026, the New Moon on August 12 will provide excellent viewing conditions. Under a dark sky with no moonlight or other light pollution, you have a good chance to see up to 100 meteors per hour.
This year, the Perseids come with an extra treat — a total solar eclipse and a large planet alignment! On the morning of August 12, before sunrise, six planets will line up across the sky: Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune. Four of them are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.
In the afternoon, a total solar eclipse will occur, visible from Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, and Spain. Much of Europe will experience a deep partial eclipse covering most of the Sun.
After that, take a break — and then wake up again before dawn. The Perseids are often at their best in the final dark hours before sunrise.
Orionids’ peak: October 20–21 🌟
- Meteors/hour: up to 20
- Meteor color: mostly white; sometimes red, green, and yellow
- Moon illumination: 70%
- Radiant location: Orion
- Visible from: everywhere
The Orionids are a medium-strength meteor shower capable of showing occasional bursts of activity. For instance, according to the American Meteor Society, in 2006-2009, the Orionids’ peak rates nearly rivaled those of the Perseids, reaching 50-75 meteors per hour. This year, observing conditions are relatively favourable — the waxing gibbous Moon sets a couple of hours after midnight, so you’ll get several Moon-free hours afterward. Watch for Orionid meteors starting from midnight until dawn.
Leonids’ peak: November 17–18 🌟
- Meteors/hour: up to 15
- Meteor color: white
- Moon illumination: 55%
- Radiant location: Leo
- Visible from: everywhere
The Leonids are most famous for producing spectacular meteor storms: for instance, in 1966, observers in the United States reported seeing 40 to 50 meteors per second, although more often we see the usual 15 meteors per hour. The Leonids’ radiant rises around midnight and reaches the highest point in the sky at dawn. In 2026, the First Quarter Moon will set around midnight, so the moonlight won’t interfere with observations.
Geminids’ peak: December 13–14 🌟
- Meteors/hour: up to 150
- Meteor color: white, blue, yellow, green, red
- Moon illumination: 20%
- Radiant location: Gemini
- Visible from: everywhere, but favors the Northern Hemisphere
The Geminids are one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year. Their meteors are bright, plentiful, intensely colored, and slower-moving. In 2026, viewing conditions are favorable as the Moon is in the waxing crescent phase. North of the equator, the Geminids’ radiant rises around sunset, so you can start observations already in the evening. In the Southern Hemisphere, the radiant appears in the sky around local midnight and culminates at about 2 a.m. local time.
Ursids’ peak: December 21–22
- Meteors/hour: up to 10
- Meteor color: mostly white and yellow
- Moon illumination: 95%
- Radiant location: Ursa Minor
- Visible from: Northern Hemisphere
The Ursids are a minor meteor shower that always peaks around the December solstice and produces 5-10 shooting stars per hour. This shower is often neglected because the mighty Geminids occur just a week before it. In 2026, the peak will occur only two days before the Full Moon, so the moonlight will interfere with observations. Although forecasts predict an outburst of Ursids activity on December 22, 2026, at around 14:00 GMT, with up to 20 meteors visible per hour, the bright moonlight will likely wash out most of them. The Ursids' radiant never sets below the horizon in northern locations, so in the Northern Hemisphere, the meteor shower is active all night long.
How to see a meteor shower?
This was our list of the most noteworthy meteor showers of 2026. If you want to know about all of the year’s meteor showers and their peak dates, consult the Calendar in Sky Tonight: tap the calendar icon at the bottom of the screen, and open the Meteors tab.
Here are a few basic tips that will help you enhance your meteor-watching experience. If you’d like to test your meteor-hunting knowledge and skills, take our quiz on how to catch a shooting star!
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Check the weather forecast. Clear skies are necessary to see the maximum number of meteors — clouds, rain, and snow can easily ruin your observations. You can check the weather forecast for any nearest date in the Visible Tonight section of our stargazing app Sky Tonight.
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Dress warmly. You may get pretty cold while waiting for meteors to appear. So take some extra clothes with you, even if it’s summer outside. A hot drink will also help you stay warm.
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Bring a blanket or deck chair. Meteor-hunting involves a lot of looking up, so instead of standing, it’s better to lie on a blanket or sit on a reclining chair. Your neck will be grateful to you!
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Look towards the zenith. Meteors seem to originate from the meteor shower’s radiant, but in practice, they can appear anywhere in the sky. So the more of the sky you see, the better your chance is to spot a shooting star. The best practice here is to lie flat on your back and look straight up.
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Use a red-colored flashlight. Unlike ordinary flashlights, a red-colored one will preserve your night vision. To make a red-colored flashlight, you can simply wrap a piece of red cellophane around your standard flashlight.
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Avoid looking at your phone. Your smartphone’s bright screen is bad for night vision, so you should avoid using it. If you need to consult a stargazing app, turn the Night Mode on — it will be a little easier on your eyes.
You can get more tips on observing and photographing meteor showers from our dedicated article. Prefer a visual explanation? We’ve got you covered! Check out our infographic to learn everything you need to know about meteor showers!.
F.A.Q.
What is a meteor?
A meteor, or “shooting star”, is a bright streak of light in the sky. It is created when tiny particles of cometary or asteroidal dust (called meteoroids) heat up and vaporize in the Earth’s atmosphere. If you want to learn more about the differences between meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites, check out our quiz.
How fast do meteors travel?
According to the American Meteor Society, grains of space dust (soon-to-be meteors) enter the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds ranging from 11 km/sec to 72 km/sec. The Leonids are considered to produce some of the fastest meteors of all.
What color are shooting stars?
Meteors can take different colors depending on the meteoroid’s chemical composition and the interaction of its atoms with the molecules in the atmosphere. Here are the main meteor colors (with the corresponding chemical elements in brackets):
- White (iron or aluminum)
- Orange-yellow (sodium)
- Yellow (iron)
- Blue-green (magnesium)
- Violet (calcium)
- Red (atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen)
What is a meteor storm?
A meteor storm is a meteor shower that produces more than 1,000 meteors per hour. They occur when the Earth passes through a very dense part of a comet’s debris trail. The most spectacular meteor storm in recent history was the Leonids outburst in 1966.
Shooting stars 2026: Bottom line
This year is very favorable in terms of meteor viewing conditions: almost all the major meteor showers — including the Perseids, Orionids, and Geminids — reach their maximum activity when the sky is dark. Get yourself a handy and detailed calendar of all astronomical events, including meteor showers, in the free Sky Tonight app.
To prepare for a successful meteor hunt, check out our useful infographic.
