Meteor Activity Outlook for 17-23 October 2026

During this period the moon will reach its first quarter phase on Sunday October 18th. At that time the half-illuminated moon will be present in the evening sky and will set near 23:00 local summer time (LST). As the week progresses the moon will rise approximately forty-five minutes later each night until it remains in the sky all night long towards the end of the week.

This week evening observers can expect total hourly rates of four from mid-northern latitudes (45°N) and near three from tropical southern locations (25°S). Morning observers may see rates near fifteen from mid-northern latitudes and near ten from tropical southern locations. Evening rates are reduced this weekend and rates all night long are reduced at the end of the week.

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, October 17/18. 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 towards 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.

 

 

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

The Northern Taurids (NTA) are active from October 13 through December 2, with maximum activity expected on November 9. The large radiant lies at 02:40 (040) +18. This position lies in central Aries, two degrees west of the faint star known as pi Arietis. These meteors are best seen near 01:00 local summer time (LST) when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. Hourly rates are expected to be near one for observers in the Northern Hemisphere and less than one as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 31 km/sec., the average STA meteor would be of medium-slow velocity.

The periodic Southern Taurids (STA) are active from October 13 through November 27, with maximum activity expected on November 4. The large radiant lies at 02:56 (044) +13. This position lies in southern Aries, three degrees northeast of the fourth magnitude star known as mu Ceti. These meteors are best seen near 01:00 local standard time (LST) when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. Hourly rates are expected to be near two no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 33 km/sec., the average STA meteor would be of medium-slow velocity.

The Orionids (ORI) are active from October 2 through November 12, peaking on October 23^rd. The radiant currently lies at 06:12 (093) +16, which places it in northeastern Orion, one degree north of the fourth magnitude star known nu Orionis. Current rates are expected to be near three per hour as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and two per hour as seen from south of the equator. The radiant is best placed near 05:00 LST when it lies highest in the southern sky. With an entry velocity of 67 km/sec., the average ORI meteor would be of swift velocity.

The epsilon Geminids (EGE) are active from October 1 through November 4. Maximum activity occurs near October 17. The radiant is currently located near 06:20 (095) +29, which is located in eastern Auriga, two degrees east of the fourth magnitude star known as kappa Aurigae. These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour of the night when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. Current rates are expected to be near one per hour as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and less than one per hour as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 69 km/sec., the average EGE meteor would be of swift velocity.

The lambda Ursae Majorids (LUM) were discovered by Željko Andreić  and the Croatian Meteor Network team based on studying SonotaCo and CMN observations. These meteors are active from October 18 to November 7, peaking near October 28. The radiant is currently located at 09:48 (147) +53, which is located in southern Ursa Major, two degrees northeast of the third magnitude star known as theta Ursae Majoris. Current hourly rates are expected to be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour prior to dawn when it lies highest in the northeastern sky. These meteors are not well seen from the Southern Hemisphere as the radiant lies low in the northeast at dawn. At 61 km/sec., these meteors have a medium-fast velocity.

The Leonis Minorids (LMI) were discovered by McCrosky and Posen in 1959 using Harvard Super Schmidt photographs. These meteors are active from October 16 to November 6, peaking near October 22. The radiant is currently located at 10:20 (155) +38, which is located in northern Leo Minor, three degrees northwest of the fourth magnitude star known as beta Leonis Minoris. Current hourly rates are expected to be near 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour prior to dawn when it lies highest in the northeastern sky. These meteors are not well seen from the Southern Hemisphere as the radiant lies low in the northeast at dawn. At 38 km/sec., these meteors have a medium velocity.

Sporadic meteors are those meteors that cannot be associated with any known meteor shower. All meteor showers are evolving and disperse over time to the point where they are no longer recognizable. Away from the peaks of the major annual showers, these sporadic meteors make up the bulk of the activity seen each night.

As seen from the mid-Northern Hemisphere (45N), one would expect to see during this period approximately eight sporadic meteors per hour during the last hour before dawn as seen from rural observing sites. Evening rates would be near two per hour. As seen from the tropical southern latitudes (25S), morning rates would be near six per hour as seen from rural observing sites and one per hour during the evening hours.

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.

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 on the table are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning Oct 17/18

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
Northern Taurids (NTA)	Nov 09	02:40 (040) +18	31	02:00	1 – <1	II
Southern Taurids (STA)	Nov 04	02:56 (044) +13		02:00	2 – 2	II
Orionids (ORI)	Oct 23	06:12 (093)  +16	66	05:00	3 – 2	I
epsilon Geminids (EGE)	Oct 17	06:44 (101) +28	69	05:00	1 – <1	II
lambda Ursae Majorids (LUM)	Oct 28	09:48 (147) +53	61	08:00	<1 – <1	IV
Leonis Minorids (LMI)	Oct 22	10:20 (155) +38	62	09:00	<1 – <1	IV

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.