Which meteor shower is the best one?

The Geminids, in mid-December, are usually the strongest of the year — the American Meteor Society lists a rate of 150 an hour under ideal conditions, with bright, often colored, slow-moving meteors — and they are the one major shower that performs before midnight. The Perseids, in mid-August, are the most popular because the nights are warm; the AMS puts a rural site at 30 to 50 an hour in a normal year.

What time of night should I look?

After midnight, for nearly all of them. The American Meteor Society explains that many shower radiants do not rise before midnight, so most showers are best between midnight and morning twilight. The exceptions on this page are the Geminids, well placed from about 10 pm, and the Draconids, an evening shower.

Does the moon really matter that much?

After clouds, it is the whole game. The American Meteor Society’s rule of thumb is that a shower peaking with the moon more than half lit — between first and last quarter — is affected by moonlight and hard to observe, and its own count table rates a rural sky under a full moon about the same as a city sky. The moon column on this page is why some famous showers have quiet years and some minor ones are worth the drive.

What does ZHR mean, and will I see that many?

The zenithal hourly rate is a corrected figure: the count an experienced observer would make under a fully dark sky with the shower’s radiant straight overhead. Nobody watches from there, so the number you see is lower. The American Meteor Society’s own table puts the Perseids at about 50 an hour from a rural, moonless site, 20 from a suburb, and 10 from a city or under a full moon, against a ZHR of 100.

Can you tell me whether it will be clear?

No. This site holds long-run weather records — temperatures, rain, snow, humidity, daylight — not cloud cover and not a forecast, so it cannot rank places for clear nights or promise one. For the night itself, the National Weather Service hourly forecast carries sky cover for any U.S. town, and our ZIP checker on the open-windows page reads its sky and wind line for you.

Peak nights, in date order

When is the next meteor shower?

That depends on the night you’re reading this — so here is every major shower’s peak night in order, the rest of 2026 and the 2027 dates the calendars have published, with how much moon is up on each one, the rates to expect, and what the night feels like at a few places worth driving to.

Counting from September 6, 2026, when we read the calendars, the next peak is the Draconids, October 8–9, 2026.

The calendar

Peak night	Shower	Active	Rate at peak (ZHR)	The moon that night
October 8–9, 2026	Draconids	Oct 6–10	5 — the IMO prints it with a question mark	A sliver in the morning sky, a day or two before new moon (new moon October 10) — the IMO calls the conditions perfectly moonless.
October 21–22, 2026	Orionids	Oct 2–Nov 7	20	80% lit and waxing, full on October 26. Dark sky only in the few hours between moonset and dawn.
November 4–5, 2026	Southern Taurids	Sep 20–Nov 20	5	18% lit, a waning crescent in the morning sky — new moon follows on November 9. No trouble.
November 11–12, 2026	Northern Taurids	Oct 20–Dec 10	5	7% lit, a thin crescent that sets in the evening — the hours after midnight are moon-free.
November 16–17, 2026	Leonids	Nov 6–30	15	45% lit at first quarter (November 17), so it sets around midnight and leaves the best hours alone.
December 13–14, 2026	Geminids	Dec 4–17	150	21% lit, a waxing crescent (new moon was December 9) that sets before the radiant is high. Effectively dark.
December 21–22, 2026	Ursids	Dec 17–26	10	94% lit, two days before full (December 24). The only window is between moonset and dawn.
January 3–4, 2027	Quadrantids	Dec 28–Jan 12	120 — the AMS says the average under dark skies is nearer 25	13% lit, a thin waning crescent in the morning sky (new moon January 7). No trouble.
April 22–23, 2027	Lyrids	Apr 14–30	18	95% lit, three days past full (full moon April 20). The AMS calls the conditions poor.
May 5–6, 2027	Eta Aquariids	Apr 19–May 28	50 — from the U.S. the AMS expects 10 to 30 an hour just before dawn	New moon on May 6 — the darkest sky a shower can ask for.
July 30–31, 2027	Southern Delta Aquariids	Jul 12–Aug 23	25	9% lit, a slim waning crescent in the morning sky (new moon August 2). Hardly matters.
August 12–13, 2027	Perseids	Jul 17–Aug 24	100 — the AMS puts a rural site at 30 to 50 an hour in a normal year	84% lit and waxing, full on August 17. Moon-washed until it sets in the small hours.

How to read the rate. ZHR is the zenithal hourly rate, the calendars’ standard figure for a fully dark sky with the shower’s radiant straight overhead. Real counts run lower; the notes below give the American Meteor Society’s own estimate for a rural, a suburban and a city sky.

Not on the list yet: the rest of 2027. The International Meteor Organization’s 2027 calendar was listed on its site when we read it on September 6, 2026 but would not open; the autumn 2027 rows — Draconids through Ursids — go in once it does. The 2026 peaks before October have passed; their 2027 dates are the rows after the Ursids.

Shower by shower

Draconids October 8–9, 2026

The odd one out: an evening shower, with its radiant in Draco riding high right after dark, so this is the one you watch before bed rather than before dawn. The meteors are exceptionally slow. Most years it is a handful an hour, which is why the IMO prints the rate with a question mark — every so often it erupts.

The AMS count table has no row for this one. IMO: maximum October 9 at 01:00 UT — the evening of October 8 across the U.S.

Orionids October 21–22, 2026

Dust from Halley’s Comet — fast meteors, often with a glowing train. A normal year is 10 to 20 an hour at its best, and the AMS says recent years have run low to average. In 2026 the moon is up most of the night; the window is moonset to first light.

What you’d likely count: about 15 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 10 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 5 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: maximum October 21.

Southern Taurids November 4–5, 2026

Slow, bright and few: a fireball shower rather than a numbers shower, from Comet Encke. 2026 is not one of its swarm years, and the AMS suggests the annual component around October 14 may show slightly more of them than the November date does.

What you’d likely count: about 3 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 2 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 1 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: maximum November 5.

Northern Taurids November 11–12, 2026

Same comet, same slow fireballs, a week later. When the two Taurid branches overlap in late October and early November the fireball count sometimes picks up noticeably. The IMO notes the maximum is more of a ten-day plateau than a single night.

What you’d likely count: about 3 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 2 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 1 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: maximum November 12.

Leonids November 16–17, 2026

The shower that put the phrase “meteor storm” into the language — 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999, 2001 — and the AMS does not expect Earth to meet another dense cloud of its debris until 2099. A quiet year like 2026 is around 15 an hour from a dark site, very fast, with trains.

What you’d likely count: about 10 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 5 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 3 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: the nodal maximum falls at 23:45 UT on November 17, so the morning of the 18th is worth a second try.

Geminids December 13–14, 2026

Usually the strongest shower of the year, and the only major one that performs before midnight — Gemini is well placed from about 10 pm. The meteors are bright, often colored, and slow enough to point at. Dress for it: this is a December night, and the table of night lows further down is for exactly this.

What you’d likely count: about 75 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 50 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 20 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: the broad maximum is centered on December 14 at 14:00 UT, so the nights of the 13th and the 14th both bracket it.

Ursids December 21–22, 2026

The shower nobody sees — a week after the Geminids and days before Christmas, 5 to 10 an hour in the late morning hours, with rare outbursts past 25. Northern Hemisphere only. In 2026 the moon takes most of the night.

What you’d likely count: about 5 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 2 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 1 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). IMO: maximum December 22 at 22:00 UT.

Quadrantids January 3–4, 2027

Capable of the year’s biggest numbers and usually a letdown, because the peak lasts about six hours and it arrives in early-January weather. Few trains, but bright fireballs. Best from mid-northern latitudes; poor from the Southern Hemisphere.

What you’d likely count: about 25 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 10 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 5 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). AMS: peak predicted near 03:30 UT on January 4, which favors Europe and western Asia; from the U.S. the hours before dawn on the 4th are the try.

Lyrids April 22–23, 2027

Three decent nights centered on the maximum, occasional fireballs, a radiant that stands high at dawn from the Northern Hemisphere. 2027 is a moon-washed year for it.

What you’d likely count: about 10 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 5 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 3 from a city or under a full moon (AMS). AMS: maximum predicted at 01:41 UT on April 23.

Eta Aquariids May 5–6, 2027

Halley’s other shower: fast meteors, a high share of them leaving trains, few fireballs. A big show from the tropics south; from the U.S. the radiant clears the horizon only in the last hour before dawn, and that hour is the whole event. Good for a week either side of the peak.

What you’d likely count: about 10 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 5 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 3 from a city or under a full moon (AMS).

Southern Delta Aquariids July 30–31, 2027

Faint, steady meteors for a week either side of the peak, better the further south you stand. The Alpha Capricornids share the night — only about 5 an hour, but slow and bright, and the fireballs are the point of them.

What you’d likely count: about 10 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 5 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 3 from a city or under a full moon (AMS).

Perseids August 12–13, 2027

The summer shower — warm nights and the most-watched peak of the year, from Comet Swift-Tuttle. 2026’s peak had a new moon; 2027’s has a bright gibbous one. On the other side of the ledger, the IMO’s modelling notes 2027 as the year Earth again crosses parts of the stream that Jupiter has stirred, which may lift the overall rates.

What you’d likely count: about 50 an hour from a rural, moonless sky; 20 from a suburb or under a quarter moon; 10 from a city or under a full moon (AMS).

How to actually see them

The American Meteor Society has been telling people how to watch since 1911, and its advice fits on a postcard:

Go dark. Showers are, in the AMS’s words, usually quite disappointing under city and suburban conditions. A site far from city lights is the single biggest upgrade you can make.
Go late. Many radiants do not rise before midnight, which makes most showers best between midnight and morning twilight. The Geminids (good from about 10 pm) and the Draconids (an evening shower) are the exceptions above.
Mind the moon. A shower peaking near a gibbous or full moon usually does not perform well — which is what the moon column is for.
Give your eyes an hour. Full dark adaptation can take over an hour. No binoculars, no telescope — meteors are a whole-sky event — and only a dim red light, used sparingly.
Lie back. A lawn chair or a sleeping bag, gaze about 45 degrees up, roughly toward the radiant. The richest patch of sky is about 30 degrees away from the radiant: meteors right at it are short, the ones further out draw long lines.
Expect more as the night goes on. The count climbs as the radiant climbs — meteors near the horizon are far away, dim, and seen through a lot more air.
Be patient. The AMS calls it the key word. Most showers are a steady, reliable show with the occasional surprise, not fireworks. And on any clear night with no shower at all, NASA notes, several meteors an hour are passing anyway.

Dress for the low, not the high

A shower is watched at two in the morning, at the temperature the day bottoms out at, sitting still. These are a few of the places we cover that people drive to for a big sky — high desert, mountain valleys, the far end of a coast — and what their nights typically drop to in the two showpiece months. The Perseids belong to August; the Geminids to December.

Place	Typical August night	Typical December night
Flagstaff AZ	51°	17°
Grand Canyon AZ	50°	18°
Sedona AZ	67°	33°
Moab UT	64°	22°
Zion National Park UT	69°	29°
Death Valley CA	89°	41°
Yellowstone WY	47°	12°
Jackson Hole WY	40°	7°
Bend OR	48°	23°
Santa Fe NM	56°	20°
Lake Placid NY	52°	14°
Bar Harbor ME	60°	22°
Key West FL	81°	68°
Kailua-Kona HI	76°	70°

Each number links to that place’s page for the month, which carries the same records for all twelve months — and the rainy-day count, which is a hint about the sky, never a promise about a night.

What we can’t tell you: clouds

Our records for these places cover temperature, rain and snow, humidity, daylight and water — not how often the sky is clear. So this page does not rank anywhere for clear nights, and no page on this site will tell you what the sky will do on a date. Two honest substitutes: the rainy-day count on each destination page (a dry month is not a clear night, but a wet one is a poor bet), and, for the night itself, the National Weather Service hourly forecast, which carries sky cover for any U.S. town. Our ZIP checker reads the Weather Service’s sky and wind line for the coming night, if you would rather not dig for it.

Or plan the trip around the month rather than the night: where to go in August, where to go in December, or any month.

Common questions

When is the next meteor shower?: Counting from September 6, 2026, when we read the calendars: the Draconids, on the night of October 8–9, 2026. The table on this page runs in date order from there through the Perseids of August 12–13, 2027. The American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization publish the dates; the moon column is the second thing to check.
Which meteor shower is the best one?: The Geminids, in mid-December, are usually the strongest of the year — the American Meteor Society lists a rate of 150 an hour under ideal conditions, with bright, often colored, slow-moving meteors — and they are the one major shower that performs before midnight. The Perseids, in mid-August, are the most popular because the nights are warm; the AMS puts a rural site at 30 to 50 an hour in a normal year.
What time of night should I look?: After midnight, for nearly all of them. The American Meteor Society explains that many shower radiants do not rise before midnight, so most showers are best between midnight and morning twilight. The exceptions on this page are the Geminids, well placed from about 10 pm, and the Draconids, an evening shower.
Does the moon really matter that much?: After clouds, it is the whole game. The American Meteor Society’s rule of thumb is that a shower peaking with the moon more than half lit — between first and last quarter — is affected by moonlight and hard to observe, and its own count table rates a rural sky under a full moon about the same as a city sky. The moon column on this page is why some famous showers have quiet years and some minor ones are worth the drive.
What does ZHR mean, and will I see that many?: The zenithal hourly rate is a corrected figure: the count an experienced observer would make under a fully dark sky with the shower’s radiant straight overhead. Nobody watches from there, so the number you see is lower. The American Meteor Society’s own table puts the Perseids at about 50 an hour from a rural, moonless site, 20 from a suburb, and 10 from a city or under a full moon, against a ZHR of 100.
Can you tell me whether it will be clear?: No. This site holds long-run weather records — temperatures, rain, snow, humidity, daylight — not cloud cover and not a forecast, so it cannot rank places for clear nights or promise one. For the night itself, the National Weather Service hourly forecast carries sky cover for any U.S. town, and our ZIP checker on the open-windows page reads its sky and wind line for you.

Where these dates come from

Nothing on this page is our prediction. Each source below is named beside what we took from it, with the day we read it and how we reached it.

American Meteor Society — Meteor Shower Calendar 2026–2027 — peak nights, active periods, hourly rates (ZHR), and how much of the moon is lit on each peak night. Read September 6, 2026 via the Internet Archive’s capture of September 3, 2026 — the AMS site itself was not answering on the day we read it.
American Meteor Society — Meteor FAQs — how to watch, and the counts to expect under a city, suburban or rural sky. Read September 6, 2026 via the Internet Archive’s capture of August 30, 2026.
International Meteor Organization — 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar (PDF, edited by Jürgen Rendtel) — the Draconids, the timed maxima in Universal Time, and the note on the 2027 Perseids. Read September 6, 2026 via the Internet Archive’s capture of September 5, 2026.
International Meteor Organization — Meteor Shower Calendar page — the list of published calendars — it names a 2027 edition we could not open on the day we read it. Read September 6, 2026 via the Internet Archive’s capture of September 3, 2026.
U.S. Naval Observatory — Phases of the Moon, 2026 and 2027 — the dates of new, quarter and full moons named beside each peak. Read September 6, 2026 via the observatory’s own data service, read directly.
NASA Science — Meteor Showers — the background rate on an ordinary clear night. Read September 6, 2026 via the live page.