During this period, the moon reaches its new phase on Thursday July 24th. At that time the moon will be located near the sun and will be invisible at night. This weekend the waning crescent moon will rise during the early morning hours, but successful morning meteor observations can still be attempted as long as you keep the bright moon out of your field of view. The estimated total hourly rates for evening observers this weekend should be near 4 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 4 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S). For morning observers, the estimated total hourly rates should be near 11 as seen from mid-northern latitudes (45N) and 13 as seen from tropical southern locations (25S). The actual rates seen will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness, and experience in watching meteor activity. Morning rates during this period are slightly reduced due to moonlight. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates as viewed 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 where meteors appear to shoot from) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning July 19/20. These positions do not change greatly day to day so the listed positions may be used during this entire period. Most star atlases (available online and at bookstores and planetariums) will provide maps with grid lines of the celestial coordinates so that you may find out exactly where these positions are located 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 is the sky directly overhead at the appropriate hour. These charts are oriented for facing south but can be used for any direction by rotating the charts to the desired direction. A planisphere or computer planetarium program is also useful in 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 in the sky until daylight. For these radiants, it is best to view them during the last few hours before dawn. It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen at its radiant position. Rather they shoot outwards from the radiant, so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies toward the edge and not the center. Viewing there will allow you to easily trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it is a shower member) or in another direction if it is sporadic. Meteor activity is not seen from radiants that are located far below the horizon. The positions below are listed in a west to east manner in order of right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located further west therefore are accessible earlier in the night while those listed further down the list rise later in the night.
Radiant Positions at 23:00 LST
Radiant Positions at 01:00 LST
Radiant Positions at 03:00 LST
These sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week
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The July gamma Draconids (GDR) were first noticed by Japanese observers of SonotoCo and the IMO’s network team of Sirko Molau and Juergen Rendtel in 2009. This stream is active from July 23-August 3 with maximum activity occurring on July 28. The radiant is currently located at 18:48 (282) +48, which places it in extreme southeastern Draco, 8 degrees southeast of the 2nd magnitude star known as Eltanin (gamma Draconis). The radiant also lies 10 degrees northeast of the brilliant zero magnitude star Vega (alpha Lyrae). These meteors are not well seen from the southern hemisphere as the radiant does not rise very high in their northern sky. Observers concentrating on this activity should face toward the southern sky near midnight Local Summer Time (LST) best view these meteors. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., the average July gamma Draconid meteor would be of medium-slow velocity. In 2016, this stream produced a strong outburst that lasted approximately one hour. Nothing unusual has occurred since 2016. Some researchers feel these meteors are related to the kappa Cygnids, which are active in August. Normal rates for this shower is less than 1 shower member per hour no matter your location and perhaps 1 per hour at maximum as seen from northern latitudes.
The alpha Capricornids (CAP) are active from July 7 through August 13, peaking on July 30th. The radiant is currently located at 20:04 (301) -12. This position lies on the Sagittarius/Capricornus border, 2 degrees west of the naked eye double star known as Algedi (alpha2 Capricornii). Current rates are expected to be near 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen near 01 :00 LST, when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. With an entry velocity of 24 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium-slow velocity.
The large Anthelion (ANT) radiant is currently centered at 20:40 (310) -18. This position lies in central Capricornus, near the spot occupied by the faint star known as upsilon Capricornii. This radiant is best placed near 02:00 LST when it lies on the meridian and lies highest in the southern sky. Rates at this time should be near 1 per hour as seen from the northern hemisphere and 2 per hour as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., the average Anthelion meteor would be of medium-slow velocity.
The last of the Northern June Aquilids (NZC) are expected this week from a radiant located near 21:36 (324) -01. This area of the sky is located in northern Aquarius, 4 degrees north of the 3rd magnitude star known as Sadalsuud (beta Aquarii). This area of the sky is best placed near 0300 LST when it lies highest above the southern horizon. Hourly rates at this time should be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 37 km/sec., these meteors would be of medium velocity.
The Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) are active from July 19 through August 13 with maximum activity occurring on July 30. The radiant is currently located at 22:13 (333) -18. This area of the sky is located in western Aquarius, 7 degrees southwest of the 3rd magnitude star known as Skat (delta Aquarii). This radiant is best placed near 0400 LST, when it lies on the meridian and lies highest in the southern sky. Hourly rates at this time should be near 1 as seen from the northern hemisphere and near 2 as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 42 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium velocity.
The July Pegasids (JPE) are active from July 4-28 with maximum activity occurring on July 12th. The radiant is currently located at 23:43 (356) +14. This area of the sky is located in southern Pegasus, 5 degrees west of the 3rd magnitude star known as Algenib (gamma Pegasi). This radiant is best seen during the last dark hour of the night when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. Rates are expected to be less than 1 per hour this week no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 64 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity.
The last of the zeta Cassiopeiids (ZCS) are expected this week from a radiant located near 00:58 (014) +52. This position lies in southern Cassiopeia, 4 degrees southeast of the 4th magnitude star known as Fulu (zeta Cassiopeiae). Rates are currently expected to be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour of the night when the radiant lies nearly overhead. Observers in the northern hemisphere are better situated to view this activity as the radiant rises much higher in the sky before dawn compared to southern latitudes. With an entry velocity of 59 km/sec., the average zeta Cassiopeiid meteor would be of medium-swift velocity.
The Perseids (PER) are active from July 17 through August 29, with maximum activity occurring on August 13. The radiant is currently located at 01:18 (020) +52. This position lies in southern Cassiopeia, 5 degrees north of the 4th magnitude star known as phi Cassiopeiae). This area of the sky is best placed for viewing during the last dark hour before dawn when it lies highest in the northeastern sky. Maximum activity is not until August 13th so current rates are expected to be near 3 as seen from the northern hemisphere and 1 as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 59 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity. Viewers in the southern hemisphere have a limited view of this shower as the radiant only rises just before dawn.
The eta Eridanids (ERI) are active from a radiant near 01:49 (027) -19. This position lies in southern Cetus, 3 degrees northwest of the 4th magnitude star known as nu Ceti. This source is active until September 10th, with maximum activity occurring on August 4th. Current 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 the radiant lies highest above the southeastern horizon in a dark sky. With an entry velocity of 64 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift speed.
The phi Piscids (PPS) were discovered by Dr. Peter Brown using Canadian radar data (CMOR). This is a complex shower involving two streams that cannot be separated visual means. These meteors are active from June 21-July 28 with maximum activity occurring on June 30th. The current position of this radiant lies near 01:56 (029) +29, which places it in southwestern Triangulum, near the spot occupied by the 3rd magnitude star known as Mothallah (alpha Triangulum). These meteors are best seen during the last hour prior to dawn when the radiant lies highest in the eastern sky while it is still dark. Current hourly rates are expected to be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 67 km/sec., these meteors would have a swift velocity.
The July chi Arietids (JXA) were discovered by two investigating teams in Europe using video data from European video Meteor Network Database (EDMOND), SonotaCo, 2013; and CMN, 2013. Activity from this stream is seen from June 26 through Aug 06 with maximum activity occurring on July 17th. The radiant currently lies at 02:38 (040) +11, which places it in southern Aries, 1 degree northwest of the 4th magnitude star known as mu Ceti. This area of the sky is best seen during the last hour before dawn when the radiant lies highest in a dark sky. Current rates are expected to be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 69 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift 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 8 sporadic meteors per hour during the last hour before dawn as seen from rural observing sites. Evening rates would be near 3 per hour. As seen from the tropical southern latitudes (25S), morning rates would be near 8 per hour as seen from rural observing sites and 3 per hour during the evening hours. Locations between these two extremes would see activity between these listed figures. Morning rates are slightly reduced due to moonlight.
The list below offers information in tabular form of the active showers that I feel are within reach of the visual observer to discern. Hourly rates are often less than one, so these sources are rarely listed as visual targets in most meteor shower lists. If you are like me and wish to associate as many meteors as possible with known sources, then you will appreciate these listings. Before claiming to have seen meteors from these class IV showers, you should attempt to determine if these meteors actually belong to them and are not chance alignments of sporadic meteors. You can note parameters such as duration, length, radiant distance and the elevation of each meteor to help compute the probability of shower association. It should be remembered that slow meteors can be seen from fast showers, but fast meteors cannot be produced from slow showers. Slower showers are those with velocities less than 35/km per second. Slow meteors can appear from fast showers when they appear close to the radiant or low in the sky. The table located on page 22 of the IMO’s 2025 Meteor Shower Calendar is a big help in aiding in the identification of meteors. If you record the length and duration of each meteor, you can use this chart to check the probability of the meteor belonging to a shower of known velocity. If the angular velocity is similar to the figure in the table, then your meteor probably belongs to that shower. Recognizing meteors from obscure showers is certainly not for the beginning meteor observer as it takes many hours to get a feel of what you are seeing. It is our hope that you will advance beyond watching meteors as a fireworks display and will want to help us expand our knowledge of the heavenly bodies we encounter in the skies above by classifying each meteor you see. Rates and positions in the table are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning.
| SHOWER | DATE OF MAXIMUM ACTIVITY | CELESTIAL POSITION | ENTRY VELOCITY | CULMINATION | HOURLY RATE | CLASS |
| RA (RA in Deg.) DEC | Km/Sec | Local Summer Time | North-South | |||
| July gamma Draconids (GDR) | Jul 28 | 18:48 (282) +48 | 30 | 00:00 | <1 – <1 | II |
| alpha Capricornids (CAP) | Jul 30 | 20:04 (301) -12 | 24 | 01:00 | 1 – 1 | II |
| Anthelion (ANT) | – | 20:40 (310) -18 | 30 | 02:00 | 1 – 2 | II |
| Northern June Aquilids (NZC) | Jul 03 | 21:36 (324) -01 | 37 | 03:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) | Jul 30 | 22:13 (333) -18 | 42 | 04:00 | 1 – 2 | I |
| July Pegasids (JPG) | Jul 12 | 23:20 (350) +12 | 64 | 05:00 | <1 – <1 | II |
| zeta Cassiopeiids (ZCS) | Jul 16 | 00:58 (014) +52 | 59 | 06:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| Perseids (PER) | Jul 13 | 01:18 (020) +52 | 59 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | I |
| eta Eridanids (ERI) | Aug 04 | 01:49 (027) -19 | 64 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | II |
| phi Piscids (PPS) | Jun 30 | 01:56 (029) +29 | 67 | 07:00 | <1 – <1 | IV |
| July chi Arietids (JXA) | Jul 17 | 02:38 (040) +11 | 69 | 08:00 | <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.
