How to use the countdown
The hero counts down to the next meteor shower’s peak in real time. That’s the headline answer to “when’s the next one.”
Set your location — type a city, or tap “Or use my exact location” underneath — and the tool adds the peak time in your own timezone and a visibility read for your latitude. Nothing is stored; the math runs in your tab.
Every shower, in detail
Each of the year’s major showers has its own page — same live countdown, pinned to that shower, plus its parent comet, radiant, typical rate and how the moon is placed this year:
- Quadrantid meteor shower — up to 120 an hour, radiant in Boötes. One of the strongest showers of the year, and the easiest to miss — the peak lasts about six hours instead of two nights.
- Lyrid meteor shower — around 15 to 20 an hour, radiant in Lyra. The oldest meteor shower on record — Chinese astronomers wrote it down in 687 BC.
- Eta Aquariid meteor shower — up to 50 an hour from southern latitudes, radiant in Aquarius. Debris from Halley's Comet, and the best shower of the year if you're south of the equator.
- Perseid meteor shower — up to 100 an hour, radiant in Perseus. The one everybody knows — warm August nights, high rates, and bright meteors that leave trails.
- Orionid meteor shower — around 20 an hour, radiant in Orion. Halley's Comet again, six months on — and the rare shower that works equally well from both hemispheres.
- Leonid meteor shower — around 15 an hour in a normal year, radiant in Leo. Quiet most years — and roughly every 33 years, the most spectacular meteor storm on Earth.
- Geminid meteor shower — 120 to 150 an hour, radiant in Gemini. The best meteor shower of the year, and the only major one you can watch before bedtime.
Getting the most out of a meteor shower
A few things reliably separate a great night from a disappointing one:
- Dark sky. City light is the single biggest killer of meteor counts. The dark-sky parks guide lists the nearest spots in most regions.
- Moon phase. A bright moon washes out all but the brightest meteors. The best shower nights fall near a new or crescent moon.
- Timing. After midnight, radiant high, eyes dark-adapted for 20 minutes. Patience does the rest.
- Comfort. A reclining chair or a blanket on the ground, warm layers, no phone glances that reset your night vision.
The detailed shower guide walks through each of the year’s major showers, and the beginners’ guide covers the basics end to end.
Why the peak time in your timezone matters
Most “meteor shower tonight” articles give a single UTC peak. But a shower peaking at 08:00 UTC is the pre-dawn of one continent and mid-afternoon of another — same event, completely different night.
That’s why the countdown resolves to your local time and checks your horizon. If you want to plan around the bigger events too, the 2026 sky calendar has every eclipse, supermoon, and conjunction, and Sky Tonight shows what’s up right now from where you are.
A meteor shower is a hard thing to hold onto — it’s over in a streak. But the sky it happened under is fixed, and the “save this sky” links open the customizer pre-filled with the shower’s date and your location, so the night you stood out in the cold becomes something you can keep on a wall.
FAQ
Is there a meteor shower tonight?
Check the countdown at the top of this page — it is live, and it tells you exactly how long until the next peak. If it reads hours rather than days, tonight is a shower night.
Even off-peak, the major showers stay active for days or weeks either side at lower rates, so a countdown reading two or three days is still worth going outside for. What decides your night as much as the date is whether the radiant is above your horizon, which the tool checks once you set a location.
When is the next meteor shower?
The countdown at the top of this page always points to the next shower peak, updating live. The 2026 lineup runs Quadrantids (Jan 3), Lyrids (Apr 22), Eta Aquariids (May 6), Perseids (Aug 13), Orionids (Oct 22), Leonids (Nov 18), and the Geminids (Dec 14).
Peaks are broad — most showers produce meteors for several nights either side of the listed date, just at lower rates.
What time should I actually go out?
For almost every shower, the hours after midnight are best, with the darkest, richest window around 2 AM local time. That’s when the radiant climbs highest and your side of the Earth is turned into the debris stream.
Set your location above and the tool gives you the exact peak time in your own timezone, plus whether the radiant clears your horizon.
What does “radiant above horizon” mean?
The radiant is the point in the sky the meteors appear to stream from. If it’s below your horizon at peak, the Earth itself blocks most of the show; if it’s up, you’re well placed.
The check uses the same orbital math as the rest of SkyWhen — the accuracy post explains the engine.
Which meteor shower is the best in 2026?
The Geminids on December 14 — 120+ meteors an hour at peak, bright and slow with unusual colour. The Perseids on August 13 are the summer favourite and 2026’s peak falls near a waning crescent moon, so the sky stays dark.
How does the “save this sky” button work?
Each shower has a link that opens the SkyWhen customizer with that night’s date, the best viewing time, and your location already filled in. You pick a layout and generate a digital bundle — 300 DPI print files plus wallpapers and social images.
The bundle is a $29 one-time download. This countdown is, and always will be, free.
