2025 is a year full of meteor showers: here’s when the next one is due

2025 lies before us with many opportunities, including a full calendar of meteor showers. They come around every year like clockwork and this means that shooting 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 chances of seeing the most meteors during any water, the first tip is to get as far away from the big city as logistically possible – and this also applies to the suburbs. Light pollution is the enemy of space viewing and most meteor showers are barely visible in the suburbs, let alone a big city. From there, you’ll want to find the radiant — also known as the point from which the meteor shower appears to originate — and then keep your eyes pointed in that direction. Moonlight can also be a negative factor, but as the meteor shower appears on specific days, it depends on nature whether the moonlight will affect the display or not.

Quadrantids

By the time: Until January 16
Peak date: January 2 to 3
Maximum Meteor Rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiant: The Big Dipper

The new year begins with a bang as Quandrantids peaks on January 2 and 3. This is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, spawning upwards of 120 meteors per hour. These meteors come from asteroid 2003 EH as Earth passes through its tail.

Gamma Standards

By the time: From February 25 to March 28
Peak date: From March 14 to 15
Maximum Meteor Rate: 6 meteors per hour
Radiant: Norm

Gamma Normids is a minor meteor shower that appears around the end of February and most of March. It comes courtesy of Comet C/1913 R1 (Crommelin). This is one of the least exciting of the year. Its radiant is the constellation of Norma, which is located in the southern hemisphere. However, avid skygazers may see some meteors on the horizon on a dark night during their 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.

Lyrids

By the time: April 15th to April 30th
Peak date: April 21 to 22
Maximum Meteor Rate: 18 meteors per hour
Radiant: Lyra

Things pick up in April with the Lyrids meteor shower. Its radiant is Lyra, which will rise from the eastern sky every night during its run. This one is a bit bigger than most, having up to 18 meteors per hour. Earth passes by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher every April to bring this shower to its citizens. Interestingly, Lyrids meteors tend to have no trails, but they can produce some pretty bright fireballs.

And Aquariids

By the time: From April 20 to May 21
Peak date: May 3 to 4
Maximum Meteor Rate: 50 meteors per hour
Radiant: Aquarius

1P/Halley, famously known as Halley’s Comet, is responsible for the Age of Aquariids, and is the largest meteor shower in 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 about 4 a.m. local time, which means you’ll have to wake up very early or stay up super 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 Capricornids

By the time: From July 12 to August 12
Peak date: From July 29 to 30
Maximum Meteor Rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiant: Capricorn

Alpha Capricornids is a small meteor shower that comes from comet 169P/NEAT. It is not a strong shower, but it is notable for the production of some rather large fireballs. It is also visible in the southern and northern hemispheres. The radiant for this is Capricornus, which streaks across the southern sky and will be visible all night during its peak. Fortunately, the moon won’t be too full, so it won’t obstruct the view too much.

Southern Delta Aquariids

By the time: From July 28 to August 12
Peak date: From July 29 to 30
Maximum Meteor Rate: 25 meteors per hour
Radiant: Aquarius

The aquarids of the southern delta often hide the Alpha Capricornids. This meteor shower peaks early, just a day or two after the official start, and then dies down in mid-August. Its first peak puts it on the same day as the Alpha Capricornids, so if you see a shooting star on July 29 or 30, it could have come from one or the other. The radiant for this is Aquarius, which is right next to Capricorn, making the two shower a beautiful couple. Researchers are not 100% certain which comet gave us the Southern delta Aquariids, although the best guess right now is 96P/Machholz.

Perseids

By the time: From July 17 to August 23
Peak date: August 12 to 13
Maximum Meteor Rate: 100 meteors per hour
Radiant: Perseus

Perseids is one of the first space events that take place during the summer. It comes from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle and is one of the busiest meteor showers of the year. In addition, it takes place in the summer, which is a perfect weather for meteor showers. The radiant one is Perseus, which rises from the northeastern sky relatively early in the evening and remains throughout the night. The only downside is that the moon will be nearly full during the Perseids peak in 2025, making it harder to see the smaller meteors.

Southern Taurids

By the time: From September 23 to November 4
Peak date: From October 10 to 11
Maximum Meteor Rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiant: 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 many other meteor showers, you can see one of these while looking for another. Comet 2P/Encke fuels this and peaks a couple of weeks away from Halloween. This is associated with the Northern Taurids to make the Taurid meteor shower. However, they peak on different days, so they are often listed as separate meteor showers.

Orionids

By the time: October 2 to November 12
Peak date: From October 22 to 23
Maximum Meteor Rate: 20 meteors per hour
Radiant: Orion

The Orionids is a fairly active meteor shower that happens mostly during October. It also has the distinction of coming from the famous Halley’s Comet as the Eta Aquariids shower. Unlike the Eta Aquariids, the Orionids come from the constellation of Orion, which rises from 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

By the time: October 6 to October 10
Peak date: October 8
Maximum Meteor Rate: 10 meteors per hour
Radiant: Draco

Draconids is a minor meteor shower and the shortest on the list, lasting for all four days. Coming from comet 21/P Giacobini-Zimmer and has a pretty decent peak at about 10 meteors per hour. The peak occurs only two days after it begins and then the meteor shower ends two days later. The radiant for the Draconids is Draco, which is between the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, making it relatively easy to find in the night sky.

Taurids of the North

By the time: From October 13 to December 1
Peak date: new 8 to 9
Maximum Meteor Rate: 5 meteors per hour
Radiant: Taurus

The Northern Taurids is the other half of the Taurid meteor shower and it lasts even longer, from mid-October until December. It peaked about halfway through its run on November 8, which is a few weeks after its southern counterpart. Otherwise, the two are practically identical. They are both powered by comet 2P/Encke and at their 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 is often listed separately from its southern cousin.

Leonidas

By the time: From November 3rd to December 2nd
Peak date: new 16 to 17
Maximum Meteor Rate: 15 meteors per hour
Radiant: Leo

A few days after the peaks of the Northern Taurids, the Leonid shower also peaked. Created by comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the Leonids come from the constellation Leo, rising in the eastern sky around 2 a.m. local time for most of their run. This is a larger meteor shower than the Taurids, but a smaller shower than the Orionids. Since all four intersect during the first week of November, it can be difficult to tell which meteor shower a shooting star is coming from. This is especially true since Taurus, Leo and Orion are all in the eastern sky at this time of year. Leonids often have fast, bright meteors that leave a trail, which may be the only way to differentiate a Leonids meteor from the other three showers.

Geminids

By the time: From the 4th to the 20th of December
Peak date: From December 14 to 15
Maximum Meteor Rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiant: Gemini

Geminids is one of the biggest meteor showers of the year, and it peaks less than two weeks before Christmas. It is generated by the comet 3200 Phaethon and can see as many as 120 meteors per hour in the right conditions. The Geminids are best known for their brighter and slower meteors, which make them easier to see in brighter areas like cities or suburbs. It takes place during the cold season, but it can put on a great show if you see it from outside the big city.

Ursids

By the time: From December 17 to 26
Peak date: From December 22 to 23
Maximum Meteor Rate: 10 meteors per hour
Radiant: The Little Dipper

Ursids begins right after the peak of Geminids and continues 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 shooting star, it’s probably coming from the Ursids. The peak of the shower in the evening of December 22 from the Little Dipper, which is soon 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.

Quadrantids

By the time:: From December 12, 2025 to January 12, 2026
Peak date: From January 3 to 4, 2026
Maximum Meteor Rate: 120 meteors per hour
Radiant: The Big Dipper

The year ends the same way it began with the Quandrantids meteor shower. It starts at the beginning of December and ends at the New Year. Thus, although it has the distinction of being the only meteor shower that occurs twice a year, the peak is always in the first days of January. Otherwise, it is the same meteor shower as the Quadrantids listed above. Therefore, we will use this space to provide a fun fact. Most meteor showers are powered by comets, chunks of ice floating in space that leave long trails that, as the Earth moves through them, create meteors. However, 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 and became an asteroid.