Meteor Shower Name | Start and End Date (Peaks Vary by Year) | Typical Meteors/Hour | Radiant Constellation | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Quadrantids | January 1 to 6 | 60 | Boötes, near the Big Dipper | Blue meteors with fine trains. Likely associated with Comet C/1490 Y1. |
Lyrids | April 16 to 25 | 10 -15 | Lyra | Bright fast meteors, some with trains. Associated with Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today and first recorded in 687 BCE. |
Eta Aquariids | Apr 24 to May 20 | 35 | Aquarius near the star Eta Aquarii | Low in sky. Associated with Comet Halley. |
Delta Aquariids | July 12 to August 23 | 20 | Aquarius near the star Delta Aquarii | Steady stream of meteors over several days. Likely associated with Comet 96P/Machholz. |
Alpha Capricornids (no link) | July 15 to August 25 | 5 | Capricorn | Yellow slow fireballs. Associated with Comet 169P/NEAT. |
Perseids | July 23 to August 20 | 75 | Perseus | Many bright fast meteors with trains. Associated with Comet Swift-Tuttle (1737, 1862, 1992). |
Draconids | October 2 to 16 | 10 | Draco | Less active meteor shower. Associated with Comet 21/P Giacobini-Zimmer |
Orionids | October 16 to 27 | 25 | Orion | Fast with fine trains. Associated with Comet Halley (Comet 1P/Halley). |
Taurids | September 10 to December 10 | 10 | Taurus | Very slow meteors. Taurids are two separate showers including a Southern and Northern component. Associated with Comet 2P/Encke, a remnant of a larger comet that disintegrated the last 20,000 to 30,000 years. Note, some resources refer to the Northern Taurids as being associated with the asteroid 2004 TG10, that also shares the same parent body as Comet 2P/Encke. The Beta Taurid meteor stream is the suspected source of the massive and devastating June 1908 Tunguska airburst. |
Leonids | November 15 to 20 | 30-300 | Leo | Fast bright meteors with fine trains. Associated with Comet Tempel-Tuttle. The 1833 storm was particularly spectacular, with an estimated 100,000 meteors per hour. |
Geminids | December 7 to16 | 75 | Gemini, near the star Castor | Plenty of bright meteors, few trains. Associated with Asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Only major meteor shower not associated with a comet. |
Ursids | December 7 to 25 | 5 | Ursa Minor, near the Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) | Sparse shower. Associated with Comet 8P/Tuttle. |
Much of the information listed above was gathered from the Royals Museum Greenwich website. To check on specific dates for peak observation times, please click the links above.