Geminids

When are the Geminids?

The Geminids are active from about 7 Dec to 18 Dec each year and peak around 14 Dec. Up to about 115 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). For local times, the Moon and the best hours from your place, open the page for the year.

• Geminids 2026Active 7–18 DecPeak ~14 Dec
• Geminids 2027Active 8–18 DecPeak ~14 Dec

How to watch

Gemini rises early, so the Geminids are active from mid-evening, making them the best shower for anyone who can’t stay up late. Rates are highest when the radiant is high, around 2 a.m. local time. They’re best from the Northern Hemisphere but visible from much of the Southern Hemisphere too.

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?

Unusually, the Geminids come from an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, rather than a comet. Phaethon passes very close to the Sun, and heating may crack and shed material from its surface.

Medium-speed, bright meteors, many with a yellowish or greenish tint.