Meteor shower calendar 2027
With the Moon phase at each peak, computed — because that is what decides whether a shower is worth staying up for.
5 min read · Published 24 August 2026
The short answer
2027 is a poor year for the two best showers and an excellent one for a third. The Geminids peak on 14 December with a full Moon, which will wash out all but the brightest meteors. The Perseids on 12 August face a 78% Moon, also poor. The Eta Aquariids on 6 May peak at new Moon — perfect conditions — and the Quadrantids on 3 January face only a 19% Moon. Moon phase matters more than the shower's nominal rate.
The 2027 calendar
| Shower | Peak | Typical rate | Moon at peak | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 3 January | ~120/hr | 19% | Good — dark sky, but a famously narrow peak |
| Lyrids | 22 April | ~18/hr | 98% | Poor — near-full Moon |
| Eta Aquariids | 6 May | ~50/hr | 0% | Excellent — new Moon. The pick of the year |
| Delta Aquariids | 30 July | ~25/hr | 15% | Good — mostly dark |
| Perseids | 12 August | ~100/hr | 78% | Poor — bright Moon washes out the famous shower |
| Draconids | 8 October | ~10/hr | 57% | Fair — low rate anyway, but occasionally bursts |
| Orionids | 21 October | ~20/hr | 67% | Fair to poor |
| Southern Taurids | 5 November | ~5/hr | 39% | Low rate, but known for bright fireballs |
| Leonids | 17 November | ~15/hr | 89% | Poor |
| Geminids | 14 December | ~150/hr | 100% | Poor — full Moon on the best shower of the year |
| Ursids | 22 December | ~10/hr | 31% | Fair — modest shower, decent conditions |
The Moon column is the one that matters and the one most calendars omit. A shower with a nominal rate of 150 per hour under a full Moon will deliver a small fraction of that, while a 50-per-hour shower under a new Moon delivers close to its full count from a dark site.
On that basis the Eta Aquariids on 6 May are the clear pick of 2027, despite being nominally the fourth-strongest shower on the list.
Why the zenithal hourly rate misleads
The advertised figure — ZHR — assumes the radiant is directly overhead, a perfectly dark sky, and a clear horizon to horizon view. None of those will be true for you.
Real observed rates are commonly a third to a half of the quoted ZHR under good conditions, and far less under a bright Moon or from a suburb. A shower quoted at 100 per hour might deliver 20 to 40 from a decent site.
That is not a reason to skip them. It is a reason to arrive with the right expectation, because the most common disappointment in amateur astronomy is someone going outside for ten minutes expecting a meteor every thirty seconds.
How to watch properly
Six things that matter
- Go out after midnight, ideally in the small hours. Earth's leading edge faces into the meteor stream after midnight, which roughly doubles rates.
- Lie down. A reclining chair or a mat. Meteors appear anywhere in the sky and craning your neck is unsustainable for an hour.
- Do not look at the radiant. Meteors near the radiant appear foreshortened. Look about 45 degrees away from it, where trails are longest.
- Give it an hour minimum, including twenty minutes for dark adaptation. Rates fluctuate; ten minutes tells you nothing.
- No optics. Binoculars and telescopes have far too narrow a field. This is the one branch of observing where equipment actively hurts.
- Dress for far colder than you expect. Lying still outdoors at 3am is the coldest ordinary activity there is.
What you are actually seeing
Almost all of it is smaller than a grain of sand. A typical meteor is a particle a millimetre or two across, hitting the atmosphere at tens of kilometres per second and burning up around 80 to 120 kilometres up.
The light does not come from the particle burning like a match. It comes mostly from the air and vaporised material being ionised by the energy of the impact — the trail is a column of glowing plasma, which is why a bright meteor can leave a persistent train visible for seconds afterwards.
Showers happen when Earth crosses a stream of debris left by a comet. The Perseids come from comet Swift-Tuttle; the Eta Aquariids and Orionids both come from Halley's Comet, which is why there are two Halley showers each year — Earth crosses its orbital debris twice.
The Geminids are the exception and the interesting one: their parent is 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid rather than a comet, which is why the Geminids' particles are denser and their meteors slower and more colourful than most.
Looking ahead
Moon phase at peak cycles over roughly nineteen years, so a shower badly placed one year will be well placed a few years later. The Geminids being ruined by a full Moon in 2027 says nothing about 2028.
For the other major sky events of the year — eclipses, retrogrades and ingresses — see the 2027 calendar, which was computed the same way.
Common questions
- When are the meteor showers in 2027?
- The main peaks are Quadrantids 3 January, Lyrids 22 April, Eta Aquariids 6 May, Delta Aquariids 30 July, Perseids 12 August, Orionids 21 October, Leonids 17 November, Geminids 14 December and Ursids 22 December.
- Which 2027 meteor shower is best to watch?
- The Eta Aquariids on 6 May, which peak at new Moon under completely dark conditions. Despite a lower nominal rate than the Perseids or Geminids, both of those face bright Moons in 2027 that will wash out most meteors.
- Why does the Moon phase matter for meteor showers?
- Moonlight brightens the whole sky and drowns out all but the brightest meteors. A shower with a nominal rate of 150 per hour under a full Moon delivers a small fraction of that, while a weaker shower under a new Moon delivers close to its full count.
- What time is best for watching meteors?
- After midnight, ideally in the small hours. Earth's leading edge faces into the meteor stream after midnight, which roughly doubles observed rates compared with the evening.