Quadrantids

When are the Quadrantids?

The Quadrantids are active from about 1 Jan to 5 Jan each year and peak around 3 Jan. Up to about 72 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.

• Quadrantids 2026Active 1–5 JanPeak ~3 Jan
• Quadrantids 2027Active 1–5 JanPeak ~3 Jan

How to watch

Because the peak is so sharp, timing matters more than for any other shower: if the peak falls in your daytime, rates the night before or after can be much lower. The radiant is low in the evening and climbs through the night, so the hours before dawn are usually best. It’s mainly a Northern Hemisphere shower.

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?

The Quadrantids are thought to come from the small body 2003 EH1, which may be the remains of a comet that broke up a few centuries ago. Earth crosses the narrow, dense core of this debris stream at a steep angle, which is why the peak is so brief.

Medium-speed meteors, often bluish, with occasional bright fireballs.