Keep an eye out for them between midnight and dawn on July 29 and 30. This year, expect no interference from the Moon at all, as it will be in its new phase during the peak viewing hours of the Delta Aquarids. A truly dark sky offers the best chance at seeing the Delta Aquarids, as they tend to not be as bright as some of the other meteor showers. A weaker shower, the Delta Aquarids typically reach their peak in late July and produce between 10 and 20 meteors per hour around this time. The Delta Aquarids get their name from the constellation Aquarius, which they appear to emanate from. The thin waxing crescent Moon won’t interfere at all this year. Look for the Eta Aquarids in the early pre-dawn hours of May 5, when 10–20 meteors per hour can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere (and nearly double that in the Southern Hemisphere). In the Northern Hemisphere, Eta Aquarids are often seen closer to the horizon. This meteor shower is most spectacular in the Southern Hemisphere, where the meteors’ radiant is higher in the sky. The Eta Aquarids are the result of dust and debris produced by Halley’s Comet as it circles the Sun. This year, the Moon will be in a waning gibbous phase during the Lyrids’ peak, so the best viewing period will be between the late evening hours (around 9PM) of April 21 and moonrise (around 2AM) on April 22. This meteor shower is visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, but is much more active in the Northern Hemisphere, where the meteors’ radiant is high in the sky.

Rarely, the Lyrids produce surges of up to 100 meteors per hour. The Lyrids reach their peak on the night of April 21–22, 2022, when you can expect to see an average of 10 meteors per hour in dark, clear skies. This year, the Quadrantids’ peak viewing period (from January 3 into January 4) nearly aligns with the new Moon (January 2), which means that the sky will be as dark as it can be and ideal for meteor-spotting! Lyrids | April 21–22, 2022 The Quadrantids’ peak is quite short, lasting from about midnight to dawn, but the volume of meteors makes the experience worthwhile. In the right conditions, the Quadrantids are one of the best meteor showers of the year, as they feature an average of 25 meteors per hour at their peak. Meteor Showers of 2022 Quadrantids | January 3–4, 2022

“Late evening” means approximately between 10 p.m.

“Predawn” means between midnight and about an hour before morning twilight.*May vary by one or two days **Moonless, rural sky Bold = most prominent More detailed information about each meteor shower can be found below the table.įind viewing tips for the two biggest meteor showers here: the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Geminid Meteor Shower.

We’ve listed these peak dates in the table below, along with the average number of meteors to expect to see per hour (in prime conditions) and the best viewing time for each shower. The dates of major meteor showers do not change much from year to year, though the peak (or “maximum”) of a shower may vary by a day or two.

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