2025 lies ahead of us with many possibilities, including a full schedule of meteor showers. They come every year like clockwork and this means that star travel planning can be done months in advance. Here’s a look at what’s happening when and how you can watch.
Tips to watch
To have the best chance of seeing more meteors during any given shower, the first tip is to get as far away from the big city as logistically possible — and that goes for the suburbs, too. Light pollution is the enemy of space viewing, and most meteor showers are barely visible in the suburbs, let alone in a major city. From there, you’ll want to find the emitter—also known as the spot where the meteor shower appears to be coming from—and then keep your eyes pointed in that direction. Moonlight can also be a negative factor, but since meteor showers occur on specific days, it depends on nature whether the moonlight will affect the sighting or not.
A meteorite is seen streaking over the Trona Pinnacles near Death Valley, CA during the annual Perseid meteor shower in August 2019.
The quadrant
When: Until January 16
Peak date: January 2 to 3
Maximum meteor rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiation: The Great Bear
The New Year begins with a bang, as the Quandrantids peak on January 2nd and 3rd. This is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, with 120 meteors per hour. These meteors come from asteroid 2003 EH as Earth moves through its tail.
The Normids range
When: February 25 to March 28
Peak date: March 14 to 15
Maximum meteor rate: 6 meteors per hour
Radiation: norm
Gamma Normids is a small meteor shower that occurs in late February and most of March. It comes courtesy of Comet C/1913 R1 (Crommelin). This is one of the least exciting rainfalls of the year. Its radiation is the constellation Norma, which is located in the southern hemisphere. However, avid sky watchers may see a few meteors on the horizon on a dark night during its peak in mid-March and potentially a few more in the intervening days and weeks. Most people probably won’t see anything, but it’s still there, throwing meteors.
Lyrida
The Milky Way and meteors of the annual April Lyrids meteor shower are seen in the night sky above Burg auf Fehmarn on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn, northern Germany, in 2018.
When: April 15 to April 30
Peak date: April 21 to 22
Maximum meteor rate: 18 meteors per hour
Radiation: Lyra
Things pick up again in April with the Lyrids meteor shower. Its radiance is Lyra, which will rise from the eastern sky each night during its run. This one is a bit bigger than most, with up to 18 meteors per hour. Earth passes by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher every April to bring this shower to its citizens. Interestingly, meteors from the Lyrids tend to have no trails, but can produce some pretty bright fireballs.
Eta Aquariids
When: April 20 to May 21
Peak date: May 3 to 4
Maximum meteor rate: 50 meteors per hour
Radiation: Aquarius
1P/Halley, known as Halley’s Comet, is responsible for Aquariids Eta, and is the largest meteor shower that occurs during the spring with up to 50 meteors per hour. The only downside is that its radiant, Aquarius, doesn’t rise from the southeastern sky until around 4am local time, meaning you’ll have to wake up very early or stay up very late to catch it. On the plus side, the moon will have set by then, meaning the moon won’t block the view for this meteor shower.
Alpha Goat
When: July 12 to August 12
Peak date: 29 to 30 July
Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiation: Capricorn
The Alpha Capricornids are a small meteor shower from comet 169P/NEAT. It’s not a strong shower, but it is notable for producing some fairly large fireballs. It is also equally visible in the southern and northern hemispheres. The highlight for this is Capricornus, which moves across the southern sky and will be visible all night during its zenith. Fortunately, the moon won’t be too full, so it won’t hinder the view too much.
The southern delta aquifer
When: July 28 to August 12
Peak date: 29 to 30 July
Maximum meteor rate: 25 meteors per hour
Radiation: Aquarius
The Aquarians of the southern delta often overshadow the Alpha Capricorns. This meteor shower peaks early, just a day or two after it officially begins, and then ends by mid-August. Its early culmination puts it on the same day as the Alpha Capricornids, so if you see a shooting star on July 29 or 30, it may have come from one of them. The brilliance for this is Aquarius, which is next to Capricorn, making the two showers a good match. Researchers aren’t 100% sure which comet gives us the Southern Delta Aquarians, though the best guess right now is 96P/Machholz.
Perseids
Trails of stars and a meteor from the Perseid meteor shower are seen above Sutton Courtenay, a small village in Oxfordshire, in this undated image.
When: July 17 to August 23
Peak date: August 12 to 13
Maximum meteor rate: 100 meteors per hour
Radiation: Perseus
The Perseids is one of the major space events that takes place during the summer. It comes from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and is one of the busiest meteor showers of the year. Plus, it takes place during the summer, which is perfect meteor shower weather. The bright one is Perseus, who rises from the northeastern sky relatively early in the evening and stays awake all night. The only downside is that the moon will be nearly full during the peak of the Perseids in 2025, making it harder to see smaller meteors.
Southern Taurids
When: September 23 to November 4
Peak date: 10 to 11 October
Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiation: Taurus
The Southern Taurids is one of the longest meteor showers of the year lasting more than a month. It’s not a particularly active meteor shower, but since it occurs during several other meteor showers, you can spot one while looking for another. Comet 2P/Encke fuels this and peaks a few weeks away from Halloween. This is paired with the Northern Taurids to make the Taurids meteor shower. However, they peak on different days, so they are often listed as separate meteor showers.
The Orionids
When: October 2 to November 12
Peak date: 22 to 23 October
Maximum meteor rate: 20 meteors per hour
Radiation: Orion
The Orionids is a fairly active meteor shower that occurs mostly during October. It also has the distinction of coming from Halley’s famous comet just like the Eta Aquariids shower. Unlike the Eta Aquariids, the Orionids originate from the constellation Orion, which rises in the eastern sky in October. Also, the moon will be practically new, so it will have one of the darkest skies of any meteor shower this year.
Draconids
When: October 6 to October 10
Peak date: October 8
Maximum meteor rate: 10 meteors per hour
Radiation: Draco
The Draconids is a small meteor shower and the shortest on the list, lasting all four days. It originates from comet 21/P Giacobini-Zimmer and has a fairly good peak of about 10 meteors per hour. The peak occurs just two days after it begins and then the meteor shower ends two days later. The highlight for the Draconids is Draco, which is between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, making it relatively easy to find in the night sky.
Northern Taurids
When: October 13 to December 1
Peak date: 8 to 9 November
Maximum meteor rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiation: Taurus
The Northern Taurids is the other half of the Taurids meteor shower and it lasts even longer, going from mid-October to December. It peaks around its halfway point on November 8, which is several weeks later than its southern counterpart. Otherwise, the two are virtually identical. They are both fed by comet 2P/Encke and at best produce about five meteors per hour. For now, researchers believe this shower comes from a different segment of Comet Encke’s track, which is why it’s often listed separately from its southern cousin.
The Leonids
When: November 3 to December 2
Peak date: November 16 to 17
Maximum meteor rate: 15 meteors per hour
Radiation: Leo
Just a few days after the peak of the Northern Taurids, the Leonid shower will arrive. Created by Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the Leonids will come from the constellation Leo, which rises in the eastern sky right around 2 a.m. local time for most of its run. This is a larger meteor shower than the Taurids, but a smaller shower than the Orionids. Since all four of them intersect during the first week of November, it can be difficult to tell which meteor shower a shooting star comes from. This is especially true since Taurus, Leo and Orion are all in the eastern sky at this time of year. The Leonids often have fast, bright meteors that leave a trail, which may be the only way to distinguish a Leonids meteor from the other three showers.
Gemini
When: December 4th to December 20th
Peak date: December 14 to 15
Maximum meteor rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiation: Gemini
The Geminids is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year and peaks less than two weeks away from Christmas. It was created by the comet 3200 Phaethon and can show up to 120 meteors per hour under the right conditions. Geminids is best known for its brighter and slower meteors, making them easier to see in brighter areas like cities or suburbs. It takes place during the cold season, but can put on quite a show if viewed from outside the big city.
Ursids
When: December 17th to December 26th
Peak date: December 22 to 23
Maximum meteor rate: 10 meteors per hour
Radiation: Little Bear
The Ursids begin immediately after the Geminid culmination and continue until the day after Christmas. Since the Geminids end before Christmas, it’s statistically likely that if you’ve ever seen a Christmas movie that has a star, it likely came from the Ursids. The shower peaks on the evening of December 22 with the Little Dipper, which is easily visible in the night sky for most of the evening. Like the Draconids, it disappears almost as quickly as it appears, lasting only nine days in total.
The quadrant
When:: December 12, 2025 to January 12, 2026
Peak date: 3 to 4 January 2026
Maximum meteor rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiation: The Great Bear
The year ends the same way it begins with the Quandrantids meteor shower. It starts in early December and ends in the New Year. Thus, while it has the distinction of being the only meteor shower that occurs twice a year, the peak is always in the first few days of January. Otherwise, it is the same meteor shower as the quadrantids listed above. So we’re going to use this space to provide a fun fact. Most meteor showers are powered by comets, chunks of ice floating through the universe that leave long trails that, as Earth moves through them, create meteors. However, the Quadrantids is powered by 2003 EH, which is an asteroid and not a comet. Researchers believe that 2003 EH is potentially a comet that died out and became an asteroid.
