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Meteor shower · May

Eta Aquariids 2026

Dust from Halley’s Comet, best in the last hours before dawn in early May, especially from southern and tropical latitudes.

Peak nightMay 6–7
Rate at peakup to ~118/hour
Moon at peak80% · rises 01:43
Best time from LondonRadiant not up
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The Eta Aquariids from London

Times for London, United Kingdom

From London the radiant of the Eta Aquariids stays below the horizon during the dark hours of the peak night, so you’re unlikely to see many, if any. A 80%-lit Moon is up through the best hours, and its light will hide the fainter meteors.

  1. 23:11Astronomical darkness begins
  2. 01:43Moon rises, 80% lit
  3. 02:33Radiant rises
  4. 02:41Dawn twilight begins
0°30°60°90°18:0021:0000:0003:0006:00RadiantMoon (80%)
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Traced backward, their trails meet at the radiant; the higher it is, the more you’ll see.

How to watch

The radiant rises late, so the window is the hour or two before morning twilight. From mid-northern latitudes it never climbs high before dawn and rates are low, but the few meteors you catch can be long “earthgrazers” skimming the atmosphere.

The radiant is near the star Eta Aquarii in the Water Jar of Aquarius, which rises only a few hours before the Sun. Up to about 118 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). The shower is active from about 20 Apr to 26 May.

Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.

Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.

You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.

Where do they come from?

Each May, Earth passes through dust shed by Halley’s Comet over many orbits. The same stream gives us the Orionids in October, when Earth crosses it on the other side of its orbit.

Very fast meteors that often leave persistent glowing trains.

Active
20 Apr – 26 May
Peak
around 6 May 2026
Rate at peak (ZHR)
~118 per hour
Speed
66 km/s
Parent body
Halley's Comet (1P/Halley)
Radiant
Aquarius

Calendar

Every major shower’s peak in 2026. Dates are approximate (±1 day) and given in UTC.

Questions

Are these really from Halley’s Comet?
Yes. Halley last passed the Sun in 1986, but the dust it has shed over thousands of years still lies along its orbit, and Earth crosses that orbit twice a year.
Why do northern observers see fewer?
The radiant sits low in the southeast before dawn from northern latitudes, and much of the shower is effectively below the horizon.
How many meteors will I really see?
Fewer than the peak rate. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. With some light pollution, moonlight or a low radiant, a fraction of that is typical.
What is the radiant?
The point in the sky the meteors seem to come from. It’s a perspective effect: the dust travels in parallel paths, like snowflakes seen from a moving car. The higher the radiant, the more meteors you see.
Do I need a telescope or binoculars?
No. Your eyes are best because meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Optical aid narrows your view far too much.
Know the best hour for your sky.SkyMate can remind you when the radiant is up and the sky is dark where you are.Join the waitlist

Sources: Global Meteor Network (activity and peak solar longitudes, CC BY 4.0); Moorhead, Clements & Vida 2022 (radiants and speeds, CC BY 4.0); NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (typical peak rates; no NASA endorsement implied). Peak dates and positions computed by SkyMate. Data & Licences

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