Will I see the Draconids 2027?
Slow meteors best seen in the evening, unlike most showers. Usually quiet, but it has produced storms of thousands an hour.
Quiet shower
Up to about 5 meteors an hour from a dark place near London around 00:12, with a half moon (63% lit), set by the best hour. In a city, about 1.
From your city, 8–9 Oct
Meteors an hour at the best moment of the peak night (local time), from a dark place nearby and from the city itself, and how often the sky was clear on that night (2014–2025).
UK & Ireland
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 00:12 | 5/h | 1/h | 63% |
| Manchester | 00:12 | 5/h | 1/h | 27% |
| Birmingham | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 47% |
| Bristol | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 45% |
| Cardiff | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 42% |
| Newcastle | 00:12 | 5/h | 1/h | 28% |
| Glasgow | 00:12 | 5/h | 1/h | 20% |
| Edinburgh | 00:12 | 5/h | 1/h | 25% |
| Belfast | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 12% |
| Dublin | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 32% |
Europe
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 01:12 | 4/h | 1/h | 35% |
| Amsterdam | 00:57 | 5/h | 1/h | 20% |
| Brussels | 00:57 | 5/h | 1/h | 44% |
| Berlin | 00:12 | 6/h | 1/h | 40% |
| Munich | 00:42 | 5/h | 1/h | 33% |
| Zurich | 00:57 | 4/h | 1/h | 51% |
| Vienna | 00:27 | 5/h | 1/h | 34% |
| Copenhagen | 23:57 | 6/h | 1/h | 43% |
| Stockholm | 00:12 | 6/h | 1/h | 22% |
| Oslo | 00:12 | 7/h | 1/h | 28% |
| Helsinki | 01:12 | 6/h | 1/h | 25% |
| Reykjavík | 23:12 | 7/h | 1/h | 29% |
| Madrid | 00:12 | 3/h | 0/h | 63% |
| Barcelona | 01:42 | 3/h | 0/h | 52% |
| Lisbon | 23:12 | 3/h | 0/h | 44% |
| Rome | 00:57 | 3/h | 1/h | 76% |
| Athens | 01:27 | 3/h | 0/h | – |
North America
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 19:27 | 3/h | 0/h | 56% |
| Boston | 19:27 | 3/h | 0/h | 62% |
| Washington DC | 19:42 | 3/h | 0/h | 73% |
| Atlanta | 20:12 | 2/h | 0/h | 74% |
| Miami | 19:57 | 2/h | 0/h | 43% |
| Chicago | 19:27 | 3/h | 0/h | 75% |
| Dallas | 19:57 | 2/h | 0/h | 75% |
| Denver | 19:42 | 2/h | 0/h | 75% |
| Phoenix | 19:12 | 2/h | 0/h | 83% |
| Los Angeles | 19:27 | 2/h | 0/h | 67% |
| San Francisco | 19:42 | 2/h | 0/h | 79% |
| Seattle | 19:42 | 2/h | 0/h | 67% |
| Toronto | 19:57 | 3/h | 0/h | 65% |
| Montreal | 19:27 | 3/h | 1/h | 62% |
| Vancouver | 19:57 | 2/h | 0/h | 57% |
| Calgary | 20:12 | 2/h | 0/h | 67% |
Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | – | 0/h | 0/h | 40% |
| Melbourne | – | 0/h | 0/h | 51% |
| Brisbane | – | 0/h | 0/h | 47% |
| Perth | – | 0/h | 0/h | 56% |
| Auckland | – | 0/h | 0/h | – |
| Christchurch | – | 0/h | 0/h | – |
| Cape Town | – | 0/h | 0/h | 50% |
The coming years
The moon decides most years. From a dark place near London at the best time:
| Year | Peak night (UK) | Moon | Meteors/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 8–9 Oct | 63% | 5 |
| 2028 | 7–8 Oct | 82% | 2 |
| 2029 | 7–8 Oct | 1% | 3 |
| 2030 | 8–9 Oct | 92% | 2 |
Draconids in numbers
- Active
- Oct 6 – Oct 10
- Radiant
- Draco (RA 262°, Dec +54°)
- Speed
- 20 km/s
- Parent
- comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
- Best from
- the northern hemisphere
Other showers coming up
Northern Taurids
Quiet showerUp to 5 an hour in perfect skiesLeonids
Worth a lookUp to 15 an hour in perfect skiesGeminids
Great yearUp to 150 an hour in perfect skiesUrsids
Quiet showerUp to 10 an hour in perfect skiesDraconids: questions
It peaks at 22:12 UTC on 8 October 2027, so the best night is 8–9 October 2027 in the UK. It is active from Oct 6 – Oct 10.
In perfect skies up to 10 an hour (the ZHR). From a dark place near London, about 5 an hour at the best time; near New York 3; near Sydney 0. From a town, about a fifth of that.
Around 00:12 in the UK on the peak night, when the radiant in Draco is 33° high and the moon is down. Check your own city above.
Dust from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The Earth crosses its trail every year; the bits burn up at 20 km/s about 100 km up. They seem to come from Draco, which gives the shower its name.
From airport weather records 2014–2025, the sky on the Draconids peak nights was on average 63% clear in London, 56% in New York and 40% in Sydney. Every city is in the table above.