When each shower peaks next, how bright the moon will be, and, once you choose a location, when the radiant is high enough and the sky dark enough to watch. Then the part no calendar can tell you: whether it will be clear.
Times are shown in UTC until you choose a location. Pick a town to see when the radiant rises there, when the moon is out of the way, and the best hours to watch, on your own clock.
The strongest shower of the year, and the most family-friendly: the radiant is up by mid-evening, so you do not need to stay up until 2am. Slow, bright, often coloured meteors.
Up to 120 meteors an hour under ideal skies; the moon is 25% lit at the peak.
| Shower | Peak night (UTC) | Moon | ZHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonids | 17-18 November | 55% | 15 |
| Geminids | 14-15 December | 25% | 120 |
| Ursids | 22-23 December | 98% | 10 |
| Quadrantids | 3-4 January | 12% | 120 |
| Lyrids | 22-23 April | 95% | 18 |
| Eta Aquariids | 6-7 May | 0% | 50 |
| Delta Aquariids | 30-31 July | 10% | 25 |
| Perseids | 12-13 August | 87% | 100 |
| Orionids | 21-22 October | 58% | 25 |
ZHR is the rate under a perfect dark sky with the radiant overhead. Choose a location for rates that allow for where the radiant actually is.
Peak times are computed from the sun's position, the way the International Meteor Organization defines them, and are good to about an hour; most showers stay strong for a day or more either side. Rates are estimates: meteor showers vary from year to year, and no forecast can promise a number. The full meteor shower calendar.