Quadrantids 2026: The First Meteor Shower of the Year
The Quadrantids are considered one of the top three meteor showers by potential intensity. Unfortunately, in 2026, their peak coincides with the Full Moon, which will wash out most meteors. Still, dedicated observers may catch a few bright ones! Use the Sky Tonight app to find out when the Quadrantids’ radiant is high in your sky and see the most shooting stars.
Contents
- Quadrantids 2026: When and where to see
- What is the Quadrantid meteor shower?
- The Quadrantids 2026: Conclusion
Quadrantids 2026: When and where to see
- Active: December 28 – January 12
- Peak of activity: January 3
- Meteors/hour: 80 (only ≈10 visible due to Full Moon)
- Moon illumination: 100%
- Radiant location: Constellation Bootes
- Parent body: Asteroid 2003 EH1
- Best visible from: Northern Hemisphere
- Description: The Quadrantids are one of the year’s strongest meteor showers, capable of producing over 100 meteors per hour. Known for their bright fireballs, they put on a dazzling but short-lived show in early January.
Quadrantids 2026: Visibility forecast
In 2026, the Quadrantid meteor shower will peak on January 3, under the bright light of the Full Moon. This makes the observing conditions poor, as moonlight will wash out most faint meteors. Still, a few bright fireballs may be visible if you manage to block the Moon’s glare with a building, tree, or hill.
What time is the Quadrantid meteor shower 2026?
The Quadrantids are known for their sharp, short-lived peak — only about six hours long. In 2026, the peak is expected around 21:00 GMT on January 3. If the shower’s radiant is already high in your sky at that time, consider yourself lucky — you’ll catch the best part of the show.
Where can I see the Quadrantids?
The Quadrantids favor observers in the Northern Hemisphere because their radiant lies far north on the sky’s dome — in the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis, which once occupied a region between Bootes and Draco. The radiant rises in the north-northeast around midnight and reaches its highest point before dawn. From the Southern Hemisphere, only a few meteors may be visible because the radiant stays low or below the horizon.
Use the Sky Tonight app to see when the Quadrantids’ radiant is above the horizon for your exact location and when the Moon is lowest. The radiant point will help you aim your gaze, but remember: meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.
Find out more useful tips on observing and photographing meteor showers in our colorful infographic.
What is the Quadrantid meteor shower?
Not as well-known, the Quadrantids are actually one of the “big three” meteor showers on the planet Earth. The other two, which you’ve probably heard of, are the Perseids and the Geminids. In comparison, the hourly rate of meteors for the Perseids is 100; however, the Quadrantids can reach up to 200 meteors per hour. So why are the other two popular every year, and the Quadrantids not?
In the Northern Hemisphere, where the meteor shower is well observable, the weather is cold this time of year, so hunting for “shooting stars” is not so comfortable. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Quadrantids are simply hard to see because the maximum altitude of the radiant in the dark is 20° below the horizon. Meteors in this stream are often bright and fast, but because of the short peak and less-than-ideal observing conditions, the shower usually appears less impressive than the Perseids or the Geminids.
What is the source of the Quadrantid meteor shower?
The source of the Quadrantids was uncertain until 2003, when astronomer Peter Jenniskens concluded that the parent body of this meteor shower is the asteroid 2003 EH1. In turn, 2003 EH1 might be related to the comet C/1490 Y1, which was observed by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean astronomers 500 years ago. If 2003 EH1 is indeed the Quadrantids’ parent body, then this stream is the second major one, along with the Geminids, that originates from an asteroid rather than a comet.
What does the Quadrantid mean?
All meteor showers take their names from the constellations where their radiant points lie. But the Quadrantids seem to be the exception because their radiant point is located in the constellation Bootes, near the Big Dipper asterism. So where did this name come from?
This January's major meteor shower is named after an old and now unused constellation called Quadrans Muralis. It was a constellation created by the French astronomer Jerome Lalande in 1795. Along with a few other constellations, Quadrans Muralis was removed from the list of modern constellations in 1922. Most of Quadrans Muralis ended up in Bootes, but the Quadrantids kept its name, most likely because there's already a minor shower emanating from Bootes during January — the Bootids.
The Quadrantids 2026: Conclusion
The year’s first major meteor shower, the Quadrantids, peaks on January 3, around 21:00 GMT. While the shower will produce about 80 shooting stars per hour, the Full Moon will make it hard to see most of them. Try to observe before dawn on January 4 to catch a few bright meteors — and use the Sky Tonight app to find out when the radiant is highest and the Moon is lowest in your exact location.
