May is the best spring month (in the Northern Hemisphere) to view meteor activity. The eta Aquariids are very active the first two weeks of the month then fade as the month progresses. These meteors are only visible in the few dark hours prior to dawn. The remainder of the night has low meteor rates. The only other showers of note this month are the eta Lyrids and the Anthelion radiant. These will add only 2-3 meteors per hour to the total count. Sporadic rates are low but steady as seen from the mid-northern hemisphere (45 N). Sporadic rates seen from the tropical southern latitudes (25 S) are strong and remain so the entire month. Unfortunately, the bright moon will severely compromise viewing the eta Aquariids in 2026. Under such circumstances hourly rates will not surpass 5 per hour no matter your location. The weak eta Lyrids will fare a little better with a half-illuminated moon, but one would be lucky to see 1 meteor per hour from this source in 2026.

During this period, the moon’s phase will wane from full to half illuminated. This weekend, the waning gibbous moon will rise during the early evening hours and will remain above the horizon the remainder of the night. Toward the end of this period there will be a couple of hours of dark sky available for viewing between dusk and moon rise. Unfortunately, the normal meteor activity for this time of night is very low, often around 1 per hour.

This weekend evening observers can expect total hourly rates of 1 from mid-northern latitudes (45°N) and near 2 from tropical southern locations (25°S). Morning observers may see rates near 5 from mid-northern latitudes and near 7 from tropical southern locations. Rates are reduced due to moonlight.

The actual rates observed will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness, and experience in watching meteor activity. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates based on observations from dark-sky sites away from urban light sources. Observers viewing from urban areas will see less activity, as only the brighter meteors will be visible from such locations.

The radiant (the area of the sky from which meteors appear to originate) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning, May 2/3. These positions do not change greatly from day to day, so the listed coordinates may be used throughout this entire period. Most star atlases (available online, in bookstores, and at planetariums) include maps with celestial coordinate grids that can help you locate these positions in the sky.

I have also included charts of the sky that display the radiant positions for evening, midnight, and morning. The center of each chart represents the sky directly overhead at the corresponding hour. These charts are oriented for facing south but can be used for any direction by rotating them accordingly. A planisphere or planetarium app is also useful for showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year.

Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky (culmination), either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. Radiants that rise after midnight will not reach their highest point until daylight; therefore, it is best to view them during the last few hours of the night.

It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen directly at the radiant position. Rather, meteors shoot outward from the radiant, so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies near the edge rather than the center. Viewing in this way allows you to trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it belongs to a shower) or in another direction if it is sporadic. Meteor activity is not visible from radiants located far below the horizon.

The positions below are listed in west-to-east order by right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located farther west and are therefore accessible earlier in the night, while those listed farther down the list rise later.


Radiant Positions at 23:00 LST

Radiant Positions at 01:00 LST

Radiant Positions at 03:00 LST

 

The following sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week:

Details of each source will continue next week when viewing conditions will be more favorable.

The list below provides information in tabular form on active showers within reach of the visual observer. Hourly rates are often less than one, so these sources are rarely listed as visual targets in most meteor shower catalogs. If you wish to associate as many meteors as possible with known sources, you will appreciate these listings.

Before claiming to have observed meteors from these Class IV showers, determine whether they truly belong to them and are not chance alignments of sporadic meteors. Note parameters such as duration, length, radiant distance, and elevation to help compute the probability of shower association.

It should be remembered that slow meteors can appear in fast showers, but fast meteors cannot be produced by slow showers. Slower showers have velocities less than 35 km/sec. Slow meteors from fast showers usually occur close to the radiant or low in the sky.

The table on page 23 of the IMO’s 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar is a helpful tool for identifying meteors. If you record the length and duration of each meteor, you can use this chart to estimate the probability of shower association. If the angular velocity matches the table values, your meteor likely belongs to that shower.

Recognizing meteors from obscure showers is not for beginning observers—it takes many hours of practice to develop an instinct for what you are seeing. It is our hope that you will move beyond simply watching meteors as a celestial fireworks display and help expand our knowledge by classifying each meteor you observe.

Rates and positions in the table are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning May 2/3.

SHOWER DATE OF MAXIMUM  CELESTIAL POSITION ENTRY VELOCITY CULMINATION HOURLY RATE CLASS
 ACTIVITY RA (RA in Deg.) DEC Km/Sec Local Summer Time North-South
h Virginids (HVI) Apr 29 13:36 (204) -12 19 01:00 <1 – <1 IV
Anthelion (ANT) – 15:40 (235) -20 30 02:00 <1 – 1 II
eta Lyrids (ELY) May 11 19:16 (289) +41 47 04:00 1 – <1 II
April rho Cygnids (ARC) Apr 30 21:36 (324) +47 41 10:00 <1 – <1 IV
eta Aquariids (ETA) May 05 22:24 (336) -02 65 10:00 1 – 2 I

You can keep track of the activity of these meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal. You can move the sky globe to see different areas of the sky. Colored dots indicate shower meteors while white dots indicate sporadic (random) activity. The large orange disk indicates the position of the sun so little activity will be seen in that area of the sky.

Class Explanation: A scale to group meteor showers by their intensity:

    • Class I: the strongest annual showers with Zenith Hourly Rates normally ten or better.
    • Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR’s normally two to ten.
    • Class III: showers that do not provide annual activity. These showers are rarely active yet have the potential to produce a major display on occasion.
    • Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR’s rarely exceeding two. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. These weak showers are also good targets for video and photographic work. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III.
 

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