Will I see the Geminids 2026?
The richest shower of the year: bright, slow meteors from about 22:00 on. The radiant is high all night from the northern hemisphere.
Great year
Up to about 127 meteors an hour from a dark place near London around 03:15, with a thin crescent (22% lit), set by the best hour. In a city, about 21.
From your city, 13–14 Dec
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 | 03:15 | 127/h | 21/h | 40% |
| Manchester | 03:30 | 126/h | 21/h | 20% |
| Birmingham | 03:15 | 127/h | 21/h | 32% |
| Bristol | 03:30 | 128/h | 21/h | 25% |
| Cardiff | 03:30 | 128/h | 21/h | 23% |
| Newcastle | 03:30 | 125/h | 20/h | 23% |
| Glasgow | 03:30 | 125/h | 20/h | 23% |
| Edinburgh | 03:30 | 124/h | 20/h | 25% |
| Belfast | 03:45 | 127/h | 21/h | 17% |
| Dublin | 03:45 | 128/h | 21/h | 30% |
Europe
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 04:00 | 127/h | 21/h | 21% |
| Amsterdam | 04:00 | 124/h | 20/h | 13% |
| Brussels | 04:00 | 125/h | 20/h | 20% |
| Berlin | 03:15 | 120/h | 20/h | 19% |
| Munich | 03:30 | 124/h | 20/h | 12% |
| Zurich | 03:30 | 125/h | 20/h | 22% |
| Vienna | 03:00 | 122/h | 20/h | 13% |
| Copenhagen | 03:30 | 118/h | 19/h | 21% |
| Stockholm | 03:15 | 113/h | 18/h | 8% |
| Oslo | 03:45 | 115/h | 19/h | 16% |
| Helsinki | 03:45 | 110/h | 18/h | 7% |
| Reykjavík | 05:00 | 124/h | 20/h | 36% |
| Madrid | 04:15 | 133/h | 22/h | 36% |
| Barcelona | 04:00 | 130/h | 21/h | 60% |
| Lisbon | 03:30 | 136/h | 22/h | 25% |
| Rome | 03:15 | 126/h | 21/h | 62% |
| Athens | 03:30 | 122/h | 20/h | – |
North America
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 00:45 | 139/h | 23/h | 54% |
| Boston | 00:30 | 140/h | 23/h | 62% |
| Washington DC | 01:00 | 138/h | 23/h | 67% |
| Atlanta | 01:30 | 136/h | 22/h | 68% |
| Miami | 01:15 | 136/h | 22/h | 64% |
| Chicago | 00:45 | 133/h | 22/h | 57% |
| Dallas | 01:30 | 130/h | 21/h | 60% |
| Denver | 00:45 | 126/h | 21/h | 59% |
| Phoenix | 01:30 | 124/h | 20/h | 76% |
| Los Angeles | 00:45 | 122/h | 20/h | 71% |
| San Francisco | 01:00 | 120/h | 19/h | 62% |
| Seattle | 01:00 | 117/h | 19/h | 38% |
| Toronto | 01:00 | 136/h | 22/h | 49% |
| Montreal | 00:45 | 138/h | 22/h | 54% |
| Vancouver | 01:00 | 115/h | 19/h | 44% |
| Calgary | 01:15 | 118/h | 19/h | 58% |
Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 02:30 | 35/h | 6/h | 49% |
| Melbourne | 03:00 | 29/h | 5/h | 50% |
| Brisbane | 01:15 | 44/h | 7/h | 42% |
| Perth | 02:45 | 38/h | 6/h | 75% |
| Auckland | 03:00 | 33/h | 5/h | – |
| Christchurch | 03:15 | 22/h | 4/h | – |
| Cape Town | 03:00 | 48/h | 8/h | 77% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13–14 Dec | 22% | 127 |
| 2027 | 13–14 Dec | 99% | 23 |
| 2028 | 13–14 Dec | 7% | 93 |
| 2029 | 13–14 Dec | 61% | 122 |
Geminids in numbers
- Active
- Dec 4 – Dec 20
- Radiant
- Gemini (RA 112°, Dec +33°)
- Speed
- 35 km/s
- Parent
- asteroid 3200 Phaethon
- Best from
- both hemispheres
Other showers coming up
Northern Taurids
Quiet showerUp to 5 an hour in perfect skiesLeonids
Worth a lookUp to 15 an hour in perfect skiesUrsids
Quiet showerUp to 10 an hour in perfect skiesQuadrantids
Worth a lookUp to 80 an hour in perfect skiesGeminids: questions
It peaks at 05:00 UTC on 14 December 2026, so the best night is 13–14 December 2026 in the UK. It is active from Dec 4 – Dec 20.
In perfect skies up to 150 an hour (the ZHR). From a dark place near London, about 127 an hour at the best time; near New York 139; near Sydney 35. From a town, about a fifth of that.
Around 03:15 in the UK on the peak night, when the radiant in Gemini is 67° high and the moon is down. Check your own city above.
Dust from asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The Earth crosses its trail every year; the bits burn up at 35 km/s about 100 km up. They seem to come from Gemini, which gives the shower its name.
From airport weather records 2014–2025, the sky on the Geminids peak nights was on average 40% clear in London, 54% in New York and 49% in Sydney. Every city is in the table above.