Geminid meteor shower 2026: when and where to look

The Geminids are the best meteor shower of the year, and in 2026 the Moon hardly gets in the way. The International Meteor Organization (IMO) predicts the peak for 14 December at 14:00 UT (Universal Time, the clock time in London in winter). That is 9 a.m. in New York, 6 a.m. in Los Angeles, 2 p.m. in London, 11 p.m. in Tokyo and 1 a.m. on 15 December in Sydney.

So the best night depends on where you live. In North America it is the night of 13 to 14 December. In Europe you have two good chances: before dawn on 14 December and the evening of 14 December. In East Asia and Australia it is the night of 14 to 15 December. On the nights in our table, a thin crescent Moon sets in the evening, and the rest of the night is dark.

Under a perfect sky the Geminids can produce about 150 meteors an hour. Most people see fewer: our estimate is around 55 an hour from a rural spot and around 20 from a suburb, with Gemini high in the sky. We worked out the dark, Moon-free hours for five cities from NASA data and made our own sky maps to show where to look.

When is the Geminid meteor shower 2026?

The Geminids are active from 4 to 20 December, according to the IMO. The American Meteor Society (AMS) lists them through 17 December and names the night of 13 to 14 December as the peak night, as seen from North America.

The IMO puts the maximum at 14 December, 14:00 UT. The peak is broad: the IMO says the shower reaches a ZHR of 100 or more for roughly 10 to 12 hours. (ZHR is a standard rate for a perfect sky, explained below.) It does not give an exact start and end for that period. Over the past twenty years, the most reliable peaks happened at points in Earth's orbit that, in 2026, correspond to times between 13 December, 21:00 UT and 14 December, 18:00 UT. So the exact hour is a forecast, not a promise.

For the other showers of the coming year, see our meteor shower calendar.

Other sources give other times. EarthSky, for example, gives 5:44 UT on 14 December. We follow the IMO, which collects meteor observations from around the world and publishes this calendar every year.

Our chart shows what the IMO time means where you live. The green bars are the hours when the sky is dark, the Moon has set and the radiant (the point the meteors seem to come from) is more than 10° up. The shaded band shows 10 hours centred on the predicted peak, as an illustration of how wide the peak is.

Best time to watch the Geminids where you live

The radiant is highest around 2 a.m. local time (a little later in Sydney), and the higher it is, the more meteors you see. These are the dark, Moon-free hours we calculated for the suggested night in each city.

North America. Watch on the night of 13 to 14 December. The hours before dawn are closest to the predicted peak. In Los Angeles the sky stays dark until 5:20 a.m., 40 minutes before the IMO's predicted maximum.

Europe. The predicted peak falls in the afternoon, so there is no perfect night. Before dawn on 14 December, the radiant is high but the peak is still about 8 hours away. On the evening of 14 December, between about 6 and 8 p.m., you are only 4 to 6 hours past the peak, but in London the radiant is just 10 to 26° up and a Moon about a quarter lit stays up in the south-west until about 9:20 p.m. The fully dark, Moon-free hours in London start about 7 hours 20 minutes after the predicted peak. Watching both sessions is the safest plan.

East Asia and Australia. The predicted peak falls during the night of 14 to 15 December. Tokyo is in a very good spot. Sydney is too, but the radiant stays low there (more below).

The nights before and after can still be worth watching, though activity is generally lower away from the maximum.

Where to look for the Geminids

The meteors seem to come from one point in the constellation Gemini, close to the bright star Castor. That point is the radiant. In the evening it is low in the east-northeast. By around 2 a.m. it is high in the south, seen from North America and Europe.

You do not need to stare at the radiant. Geminids appear all over the sky. Meteors near the radiant look short, and the ones further away show longer trails. A good trick is to look about halfway up the sky, a little to the side of Gemini, and take in as much sky as you can.

The circled marker in our sky view comes from Stellarium's Meteor Showers plugin. The other green labels are other meteor sources that are active at the same time. To make this view for your own town, our guide to Stellarium Web shows how to set your location and search for Castor.

How many Geminids will you actually see?

The number 150 is the ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate. It is the number one observer would see in one hour if the sky were perfectly dark and the radiant were straight overhead. It is a standard way to compare showers, not a count you can expect. Most observers see fewer, because of light pollution, trees, buildings and a lower radiant.

We used the IMO's formula to estimate what one person could see per hour if the shower were at full strength (ZHR 150) at that moment. Sky darkness is measured by the faintest star you can see. Astronomers use a brightness scale called magnitude: higher numbers mean fainter stars. Our three examples:

• Very dark sky (faintest stars magnitude 6.5), radiant high: about 150 an hour.
• Rural sky (magnitude 5.5), radiant high: about 57 an hour.
• Suburban sky (magnitude 4.5), radiant high: about 22 an hour.
• Sydney, rural sky, radiant only 23° up: about 23 an hour.

"Rural" and "suburban" are rough labels; your own sky may be darker or brighter. Activity is generally lower away from the maximum. Meteors also arrive at random: you may see nothing for a few minutes and then three in a row.

Will the Moon get in the way?

Not much in 2026. The New Moon is on 9 December, so on the suggested nights the Moon is a thin crescent. It sets in the evening (local time; the Moon is about 18 to 24 percent lit at dusk):

• New York, 13 December: about 8:50 p.m.
• Los Angeles, 13 December: about 9:00 p.m.
• London, 13 December: about 8:10 p.m.
• Tokyo, 14 December: about 9:10 p.m.
• Sydney, 14 December: about 11:40 p.m.

After that, the sky is dark until morning twilight. In Sydney the radiant only clears 10° at about 11:50 p.m., which is why our table starts there. Each night the Moon sets about an hour later than the night before. Our view from New York at 9:30 p.m. on 13 December shows Gemini already above the eastern horizon, with the Moon gone.

Can you see the Geminids from the Southern Hemisphere?

Yes, but it depends on how far south you are. Gemini is a northern constellation. The further south, the lower the radiant climbs: about 47° high at 10° south, about 27° at 30° south, and only about 12° at 45° south. South of about 57° it never rises at all. The IMO's calendar says the radiant appears only around local midnight or so in the southern hemisphere; the exact time depends on your latitude. From Sydney it rises at about 10:40 p.m. and clears 10° at about 11:50 p.m. The AMS says southern observers see the shower at a reduced rate.

From Sydney our calculation gives a highest point of 23° at about 2:50 a.m. At that height, a rural observer could see roughly 23 meteors an hour if the shower were at full strength. The good news: the IMO's predicted peak falls in the middle of the Australian night of 14 to 15 December. Watch from midnight until the sky starts to brighten, and face north.

How to watch the Geminids: practical tips

You need no telescope or binoculars. Your eyes take in the most sky at once.

1. Get away from lights. A dark park or a spot outside town makes a big difference, as our estimate shows. 2. Check the weather. Clouds are the main reason people see nothing. Keep a second night in mind. 3. Dress warmly. In colder places December nights are freezing, and you will sit still for an hour or more. A reclining chair and a blanket help. 4. Let your eyes adjust. Avoid bright screens. If you use a phone app, switch on its red night mode. 5. Watch for at least an hour. Quiet minutes are normal; meteors arrive at random. 6. Look up, not at the horizon. Lie back and take in as much sky as you can.

For an app that shows where Gemini is, see our test of free stargazing apps. Our Tonight page shows what else is up in the sky.

Where do the Geminids come from? Asteroid 3200 Phaethon

Most meteor showers come from comets. The Geminids come from an asteroid: 3200 Phaethon. Every December, Earth passes through a stream of dust and small rocks along its orbit. They hit the atmosphere at about 35 km per second and burn up high above the ground.

According to NASA's JPL Small-Body Database, Phaethon is about 6.25 km (3.9 miles) across and goes around the Sun every 524 days. At its closest it comes within 0.14 astronomical units of the Sun, closer than Mercury ever gets. The radar images above were taken at the Arecibo Observatory in December 2017, when Phaethon passed about 10.3 million km from Earth. NASA says it will not come that close again until 2093.

The AMS notes that Geminids are often bright and intensely colored.

Use a free sky app to find Gemini

An app makes Gemini easy to find, even if you have never looked for it. Point your phone at the sky, or set your location in a planetarium app and search for Castor.

The view here shows London at 7 p.m. on 14 December, five hours after the predicted maximum. Gemini is low in the east-northeast, with the radiant marker beside Castor. Later in the night it climbs much higher.

Looking further ahead: on 2 August 2027 a total solar eclipse crosses southern Spain, North Africa and the Middle East. Our guide to the 2027 eclipse has the path and the times.

Geminid meteor shower FAQ

What night is the Geminid meteor shower in 2026? In North America the night of 13 to 14 December. In Europe, before dawn on 14 December and the evening of 14 December. In East Asia and Australia, the night of 14 to 15 December.

What time is the Geminid peak? The IMO predicts the maximum on 14 December at 14:00 UT. The strong part lasts roughly 10 to 12 hours, so watch during your darkest hours closest to that time.

Where is the Geminid meteor shower visible? From the whole Northern Hemisphere and much of the Southern Hemisphere, if the sky is clear and dark. The further south you are, the lower the radiant and the fewer meteors. South of about 57° south it does not rise.

Which direction should I look? Anywhere in the sky. The meteors seem to come from Gemini, near Castor, which is in the east in the evening and high in the south around 2 a.m. from northern places.

Do I need a telescope? No. Use your eyes and look at a wide part of the sky.

Can I see the Geminids from a city? A few bright ones, yes. Our estimate for a suburban sky is around 20 an hour, and only if the radiant is high and the shower is at full strength. In a bright city center, expect far fewer.

What is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? A meteor is the streak of light you see when a small piece of rock or dust burns up in the atmosphere. A meteorite is a piece that survives the trip and lands on the ground.

Will there be any meteor showers in December 2026? Yes. Besides the Geminids, the IMO lists the small Ursids, peaking on 22 December 2026 at 22:00 Universal Time (UT), close to a nearly full Moon. Our meteor shower calendar has all dates.

What meteor shower happens every 33 years? None happens only every 33 years, but the Leonids are linked to that number: their parent comet takes 33 years to go around the Sun (NASA). See our Leonid guide.

What is 3200 Phaethon? The asteroid that left the dust stream behind. It is about 6 km across and passes closer to the Sun than Mercury.

How we checked

The dates, peak time, ZHR, speed and radiant position come from the IMO's 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar, edited by Jürgen Rendtel. The IMO website was being rebuilt when we wrote this, so we used an archived copy of the calendar PDF. The AMS calendar, read on 8 October 2026, gave the peak night, the end date and the Moon phase.

For the Moon and the darkness, we downloaded the positions of the Sun and the Moon from NASA JPL Horizons for New York (40.71° N, 74.01° W, EST, UTC−5), Los Angeles (34.05° N, 118.24° W, PST, UTC−8), London (51.51° N, 0.13° W, GMT, UTC+0), Tokyo (35.68° N, 139.65° E, JST, UTC+9) and Sydney (33.87° S, 151.21° E, AEDT, UTC+11), every 10 minutes from 12 to 16 December 2026, with the bending of light by the atmosphere included. We counted the sky as dark when the Sun was more than 18° below the horizon, and the Moon as set when its centre went below the horizon. Times are therefore approximate, to about 10 minutes. We kept the radiant fixed at the IMO's position (right ascension 112°, declination +33°) and calculated its height ourselves. Rates use the IMO formula: rate = ZHR × sin(radiant height) ÷ 2.6^(6.5 − faintest star magnitude), with ZHR 150.

The sky views are our screenshots from the free program Stellarium 26.3 for Windows with its Meteor Showers plugin, credited as Stellarium asks. The landscape is Guéreins by Fabien Chéreau. The Kitt Peak photo (KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Sparks) and the Gemini North photo (International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) are used under CC BY 4.0; we cropped both to a wider shape and made no other changes. The Phaethon radar images are by the Arecibo Observatory/NASA/NSF. Links to all sources are below. Phaethon's size and orbit come from NASA JPL's Small-Body Database. None of the images is AI-generated. We will add a dated note if the forecast changes.