Draconids 2026: peak night, meteors per hour and where to watch
The Draconids are the October shower of Comet Giacobini–Zinner. In most years only a handful show, but when Earth crosses fresh trails there have been storms of hundreds or thousands an hour. Unusually, it is best in the evening: the radiant in Draco is high from dusk.
- Peak night
- 8–9 October
- ZHR
- rates vary from year to year
- Moon
- 3% — not in the way
- Active
- 6–10 October
- Radiant
- Draco · in the evening
- Best time over London
- around 19:34, radiant 70° up
- Under a dark sky
- ≈ 5 meteors an hour
- Speed
- 20 km/s
- Parent
- 21P/Giacobini–Zinner
How to see a meteor shower, not three meteors
- 1
Get away from light pollution
The Dark Sky layer on the map shows where it is Bortle 4 or darker, with campsites nearby.
- 2
Wait until after midnight
The radiant climbs towards morning and Earth 'flies into' the dust: two to three times more meteors than in the evening.
- 3
Look away from the radiant
40–60° from the radiant meteors are longer. Lie down, keep warm, give your eyes 20 minutes without a phone.
Draconids FAQ
When do the Draconids peak in 2026?
On the night of 8–9 October; over London the best time is around 19:34, when the radiant in Draco is 70° up.
How many meteors will I see?
The shower ZHR is 5; over London under a dark sky about 5 an hour, in a city just a few.
Will the Moon get in the way?
No: the Moon is 3% lit and out of the way at the best hours.
Other meteor showers of 2026
Quadrantids · 3–4 JanuaryLyrids · 22–23 AprilEta Aquariids · 5–6 MaySouthern Delta Aquariids · 31 July — 1 AugustAlpha Capricornids · 31 July — 1 AugustPerseids · 12–13 AugustOrionids · 21–22 OctoberSouthern Taurids · 5–6 NovemberNorthern Taurids · 12–13 NovemberLeonids · 17–18 NovemberDecember Monocerotids · 8–9 DecemberSigma Hydrids · 8–9 DecemberGeminids · 14–15 DecemberUrsids · 22–23 DecemberMeteor showers 2026 →