Will I see the Northern Taurids 2026?
Few meteors but famous for slow, bright fireballs. Active for weeks, so there is no single night to catch.
Quiet shower
Up to about 4 meteors an hour from a dark place near London around 00:26, with a thin crescent (9% lit), set by the best hour. In a city, about 1.
From your city, 11–12 Nov
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 | 00:26 | 4/h | 1/h | 32% |
| Manchester | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 22% |
| Birmingham | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 32% |
| Bristol | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 22% |
| Cardiff | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 22% |
| Newcastle | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 21% |
| Glasgow | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 24% |
| Edinburgh | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 24% |
| Belfast | 00:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 11% |
| Dublin | 00:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 32% |
Europe
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 01:26 | 4/h | 1/h | 25% |
| Amsterdam | 01:11 | 4/h | 1/h | 18% |
| Brussels | 01:11 | 4/h | 1/h | 37% |
| Berlin | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 25% |
| Munich | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 20% |
| Zurich | 00:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 27% |
| Vienna | 00:26 | 4/h | 1/h | 22% |
| Copenhagen | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 28% |
| Stockholm | 00:26 | 4/h | 1/h | 15% |
| Oslo | 00:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 20% |
| Helsinki | 00:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 9% |
| Reykjavík | 01:56 | 4/h | 1/h | 24% |
| Madrid | 01:41 | 5/h | 1/h | 53% |
| Barcelona | 01:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 53% |
| Lisbon | 01:11 | 5/h | 1/h | 45% |
| Rome | 00:41 | 5/h | 1/h | 77% |
| Athens | 00:56 | 5/h | 1/h | – |
North America
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 00:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 67% |
| Boston | 00:11 | 5/h | 1/h | 65% |
| Washington DC | 00:41 | 5/h | 1/h | 71% |
| Atlanta | 01:11 | 5/h | 1/h | 61% |
| Miami | 00:56 | 5/h | 1/h | 57% |
| Chicago | 00:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 66% |
| Dallas | 00:56 | 5/h | 1/h | 65% |
| Denver | 00:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 70% |
| Phoenix | 00:56 | 5/h | 1/h | 87% |
| Los Angeles | 00:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 82% |
| San Francisco | 00:41 | 5/h | 1/h | 73% |
| Seattle | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 45% |
| Toronto | 00:41 | 5/h | 1/h | 54% |
| Montreal | 00:26 | 5/h | 1/h | 55% |
| Vancouver | 00:41 | 4/h | 1/h | 46% |
| Calgary | 01:11 | 4/h | 1/h | 60% |
Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
| City | Best time | Dark sky | In the city | Clear sky |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 01:11 | 3/h | 1/h | 53% |
| Melbourne | 01:41 | 2/h | 1/h | 51% |
| Brisbane | 00:11 | 3/h | 1/h | 51% |
| Perth | 00:41 | 3/h | 1/h | 73% |
| Auckland | 01:41 | 3/h | 1/h | – |
| Christchurch | 01:56 | 2/h | 0/h | – |
| Cape Town | 01:11 | 3/h | 1/h | 65% |
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 | 11–12 Nov | 9% | 4 |
| 2027 | 12–13 Nov | 97% | 2 |
| 2028 | 11–12 Nov | 27% | 4 |
| 2029 | 11–12 Nov | 39% | 4 |
Northern Taurids in numbers
- Active
- Oct 20 – Dec 10
- Radiant
- Taurus (RA 58°, Dec +22°)
- Speed
- 29 km/s
- Parent
- comet 2P/Encke
- Best from
- both hemispheres
Other showers coming up
Leonids
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 skiesQuadrantids
Worth a lookUp to 80 an hour in perfect skiesNorthern Taurids: questions
It peaks at 09:26 UTC on 12 November 2026, so the best night is 11–12 November 2026 in the UK. It is active from Oct 20 – Dec 10.
In perfect skies up to 5 an hour (the ZHR). From a dark place near London, about 4 an hour at the best time; near New York 5; near Sydney 3. From a town, about a fifth of that.
Around 00:26 in the UK on the peak night, when the radiant in Taurus is 60° high and the moon is down. Check your own city above.
Dust from comet 2P/Encke. The Earth crosses its trail every year; the bits burn up at 29 km/s about 100 km up. They seem to come from Taurus, which gives the shower its name.
From airport weather records 2014–2025, the sky on the Northern Taurids peak nights was on average 32% clear in London, 67% in New York and 53% in Sydney. Every city is in the table above.