Meteor shower
Geminids 2026: when and where to see them
The Geminids peak on the night of 13–14 December 2026. Under a dark sky you could see up to 150 meteors an hour.
Is it clear for the Geminids tonight? Check your sky- Peak night
- 13–14 December 2026
- Meteors an hour (ZHR)
- up to 150
- Best time
- from mid-evening
- Moon
- 21% lit
- Radiant
- Gemini
- Speed
- 35 km/s
The Moon this year
The Moon is only 21% lit and sets early in the evening, so the sky stays dark all night. A very good year.
About the Geminids
The Geminids are the strongest meteor shower of the year, and one of the few you can watch before midnight: the radiant near the bright stars Castor and Pollux is already up by mid-evening. They are slow, bright and often yellowish, and unusually they come from an asteroid, not a comet.
Where to look
The meteors seem to fly out of a point in Gemini, the radiant, but they can appear anywhere in the sky. Look about halfway up, at a wide area of sky away from the Moon and street lights, and give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust to the dark.
How to watch
- Get away from town lights if you can. A dark sky shows several times as many meteors.
- Lie back on a mat or a reclining chair, so you can watch a big piece of sky without craning your neck.
- Keep your phone away, or use a red screen: one glance at a bright screen undoes your night vision.
- Dress warmly and be patient. Meteors come in bursts, with quiet spells in between.