Meteor shower – Astronomy Now

Geminid meteors burst out!

13 December 2022 Mark Armstrong

Watch out tonight (13th/14th) and tomorrow night (14th/15th) for the welcome return of the Geminid meteor shower.

Watch the Orionid meteor shower peak on Friday night

19 October 2022 Steve Kelly

The Orionid meteor shower is one of autumn’s major meteor showers and is a firm favourite with shooting-star watchers.

Link-up with the Lyrids

20 April 2022 Mark Armstrong

The return of the yearly April Lyrids meteor shower is very welcome for meteor observers, breaking the roughly 15-week hiatus since the maximum of the Quadrantids meteor shower on 3 January.

Don’t miss the Perseid meteor shower

10 August 2020 Mark Armstrong

Get ready for the annual Perseid meteor shower this week, one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the astronomical calendar.

Beginners’ astronomy: how to see the Lyrid meteor shower

20 April 2020 Keith Cooper

If you’ve never seen a meteor shower, then with no work or school for many people in the morning thanks to the continuing COVID-19 lockdown, the Lyrids are a great opportunity to stay up late and witness nature’s own fireworks.

Bright Moon photobombs Geminid meteor shower peak on 14 December

5 December 2019 Ade Ashford

The December Geminid meteor shower is generally regarded as the richest and most reliable of the major annual shooting star displays. This year the predicted peak occurs between 2h and 23h UT (2am to 11pm GMT) on Saturday the 14th, but its bright and slow-moving shooting stars will have to contend with the glare of a nearby Moon just two days after full.

Don’t miss the Geminid meteor shower 13–14 December 2018

13 December 2018 Ade Ashford

The December Geminid meteor shower is generally regarded as the richest and most reliable of the major annual shooting star displays. This year the predicted peak occurs close to 12h UT on 14 December, though high rates of activity should be encountered between 8pm GMT on Thursday, 13 December and 5pm GMT the following evening.

Get ready for the Quadrantid meteor shower’s peak on 4 January

2 January 2016 Ade Ashford

The first major annual meteor shower is the Quadrantids that is active from 1 to 6 January. While it is a display that can rival the August Perseids or the December Geminids at its best, most of the peak activity occurs within a six-hour window centred on a short, sharp maximum that is predicted to fall on the UK morning of Monday, 4 January 2016.

Don’t miss the Quadrantid meteor shower

2 January 2015 Mark Armstrong

The first shooting stars of 2015 belong to the the Quadrantids, a shower that peaks on the night of 3rd/4th January. Despite the interference of a gibbous Moon, expect some bright, sometimes blue and yellow coloured meteors that may leave glowing trails.

Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak

11 December 2014 Mark Armstrong

With the Moon past Last Quarter and rising after midnight, prospects are good for observing the closing stages of the Geminid meteor shower — now the richest shooting stars display of the year.