The fastest meteors of any annual shower. Usually modest, but famous for storms of thousands an hour around the parent comet's 33-year returns. Best from about 2am.
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.
Peaks in 25 days
Night of 17-18 November
Maximum 17 November 2026, 23:51 UTC
Choose a location above to see when the radiant rises where you are, when the moon is out of the way, and the best hours to watch.
Will it be clear? Cloud forecasts are only worth reading about a week ahead, so the forecast for this night opens on 11 November.
Create a free ClearSkys account to get an alert when a clear night is coming at your location.
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No shower is at its peak right now. The next is the Leonids, on the night of 17-18 November. A few sporadic meteors an hour are visible on any dark night.
What is the best time to watch a meteor shower?
Usually after midnight, when your side of the Earth faces into the stream and the radiant is higher. The Geminids are the main exception: their radiant is up by mid-evening. A moonless, properly dark sky matters more than the exact hour.
How many meteors will I actually see?
Fewer than the headline rate. That figure (the ZHR) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead. Halve it for a radiant 30 degrees up, and halve it again from a town or under a bright moon. The rates on this page already allow for the radiant's height at your location.
Do I need a telescope or binoculars?
No. Meteors cross large parts of the sky in a second, so your eyes are the right instrument. Lie back, look about halfway up, away from the radiant, and give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt.
Will it be clear on the peak night?
ClearSkys forecasts cloud, moonlight and darkness for any location seven nights ahead. Choose your location on a shower's page to open the forecast for its peak night.
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.