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Meteor shower · October

Southern Taurids 2026

A long, gentle autumn shower with slow meteors and a reputation for fireballs.

Peak nightOct 28–29
Rate at peakup to ~5/hour
Moon at peak86% lit
Best time from London20:30–04:45
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The Southern Taurids from London

Times for London, United Kingdom

On the night of Oct 28–29, the radiant climbs to 52° in the south while it’s dark in London. A 86%-lit Moon is up through the best hours, and its light will hide the fainter meteors. The best window here is about 20:30–04:45.

  1. 18:33Astronomical darkness begins
  2. 20:30Best window begins (moonlit)
  3. 00:47Radiant highest, 52° up
  4. 04:55Dawn twilight begins
0°30°60°90°18:0021:0000:0003:0006:00RadiantMoon (86%)
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 is up for most of the night and highest around midnight, so you don’t need to wait for dawn. Don’t expect many: a few an hour is typical. Some years bring more bright fireballs than usual.

The radiant is in Taurus, near the border with Aries and Cetus, well placed around midnight. Up to about 5 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). The shower is active from about 3 Oct to 12 Nov.

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 Taurids come from Comet 2P/Encke, which has the shortest orbit of any well-known comet (3.3 years), and from the wider debris complex around it. The stream is so spread out that Earth takes weeks to cross it.

Slow, often bright meteors; rates are low but the shower lasts for weeks.

Active
3 Oct – 12 Nov
Peak
around 29 Oct 2026
Rate at peak (ZHR)
~5 per hour
Speed
27 km/s
Parent body
Comet 2P/Encke
Radiant
Aries

Calendar

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

Questions

What is a “Taurid swarm” year?
In some years Earth passes through a denser clump in the Taurid stream, which can bring noticeably more fireballs.
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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