Meteor showers 2026–2027: dates and peak times
A meteor shower has a peak moment, and a night is good for it only when the sky is dark and the Moon is down. The Orionids peak around October 21, 2026; at 40° north the sky is dark and moonless on the night of October 21–22 only from 3:17 a.m. to 5:47 a.m.. The best of late 2026 is the Geminids, ZHR 150: the peak is December 14, 9 a.m., Eastern time, so the night to watch is December 13–14, dark from 8:48 p.m. to 5:37 a.m.. Below: every major shower to December 2027 with the peak time from the International Meteor Organization (IMO), the moonless dark hours, and a calculator for your place.
Peak nights, October 2026 to December 2027
Peak times are the IMO's, given in US Eastern time. ZHR is the IMO's rate for an ideal sky.
| Shower | Peak | ZHR |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ||
| Orionids | around Oct 21 | 20 |
| Southern Taurids | around Nov 5 | 7 |
| Northern Taurids | around Nov 12 | 5 |
| Leonids | Nov 17, 6:45 p.m. | 15 |
| Geminids | Dec 14, 9 a.m. | 150 |
| Ursids | Dec 22, 5 p.m. | 10 |
| 2027 | ||
| Quadrantids | Jan 3, 10:25 p.m. | 80+ |
| Lyrids | Apr 22, 9:40 p.m. | 18 |
| Eta Aquariids | May 6, 5 a.m. | 50 |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | around Jul 31 | 25 |
| Perseids | Aug 13, 4–6 a.m. | 110+ |
| Draconids | Oct 9, 3 a.m. | 5 |
| Orionids | around Oct 22 | 20 |
| Southern Taurids | around Nov 6 | 7 |
| Northern Taurids | around Nov 13 | 5 |
| Leonids | Nov 18, 1 a.m. | 15+ |
| Geminids | Dec 14, 3 p.m. | 150 |
| Ursids | Dec 22, 11 p.m. | 10 |
Dark hours without the Moon (40° north)
The night to watch is the evening before a morning peak. Its dark hours run from the end of evening twilight to the start of morning twilight (the Sun 18° below the horizon), minus the hours the Moon is up, at 40° north, by the clock in the Eastern time zone. In 2027 the Perseids (ZHR 110+) peak on August 13, 4–6 a.m. Eastern daylight time, dark from 2:24 a.m. to 4:27 a.m. after the Moon sets; the Geminids peak at full moon, with no dark hours on December 14–15.
| Shower | Night | Dark, no Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | ||
| Orionids | Oct 21–22 | 3:17 a.m.–5:47 a.m. |
| Southern Taurids | Nov 5–6 | 6:25 p.m.–3:53 a.m. |
| Northern Taurids | Nov 12–13 | 6:55 p.m.–5:09 a.m. |
| Leonids | Nov 17–18 | 12:01 a.m.–5:14 a.m. |
| Geminids | Dec 13–14 | 8:48 p.m.–5:37 a.m. |
| Ursids | Dec 22–23 | none (moonlit) |
| 2027 | ||
| Quadrantids | Jan 3–4 | 6:24 p.m.–4:58 a.m. |
| Lyrids | Apr 22–23 | 9:25 p.m.–10:09 p.m. |
| Eta Aquariids | May 5–6 | 9:44 p.m.–4:09 a.m. |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | Jul 31–Aug 1 | 10:04 p.m.–4:09 a.m. |
| Perseids | Aug 12–13 | 2:24 a.m.–4:27 a.m. |
| Draconids | Oct 8–9 | 1:07 a.m.–5:34 a.m. |
| Orionids | Oct 22–23 | 7:41 p.m.–12:19 a.m. |
| Southern Taurids | Nov 6–7 | 12:57 a.m.–6:03 a.m. |
| Northern Taurids | Nov 13–14 | none (moonlit) |
| Leonids | Nov 17–18 | 6:16 p.m.–7:56 p.m. |
| Geminids | Dec 14–15 | none (moonlit) |
| Ursids | Dec 22–23 | 6:16 p.m.–3:20 a.m. |
Your place and your shower
Enter your latitude and longitude (west is negative). The clock starts in this device's time zone, daylight saving included for the night you pick; choose another time zone if you are planning from elsewhere.
dark, with the Moon down
The shower starts at the next peak; without JavaScript, the example above is the Geminids from New York in UTC−5. Clouds and city lights are not counted.
What ZHR means
The IMO defines the Zenithal Hourly Rate as the number of meteors an ideal observer would see in an hour under a perfectly clear sky, with stars down to magnitude 6.5 visible and the shower's radiant overhead. From a town, with the radiant lower, you will see far fewer; a dark place and the hours without the Moon matter more than the exact peak minute.
Where Angel Step fits
Angel Step reads only your step count from Apple Health and shows it as one number on a living sky. It does not predict meteors; that is this page's job. A dark, clear night is a good one for a walk away from the streetlights.
Sources
- International Meteor Organization — 2027 Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO INFO(3-26)): peak dates and times, ZHR (Table 5). IMO
- International Meteor Organization — 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO INFO(3-25)): the peaks of October to December 2026. IMO (mirror)
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan — astronomical twilight as the Sun 18° below the horizon. NAOJ
- 15 U.S.C. § 260a — daylight saving time, used for the clock times. Cornell LII
Updated