Meteor Showers in 2022

The Quadrantids are named after a former constellation, Quadrans Muralis, and have become increasingly active over the past few decades. Its zenith hourly rate can vary from year to year, with anything from 60 to 200 meteors potentially being visible. Its current average rate is about 110 per hour, but since that’s an ideal number, most of us will probably see around 23 instead.

This year could be a good one for the shower, as there’s a new Moon on the day before the shower’s maximum. You can therefore start looking as soon as the sky is truly dark (about two hours after sunset), with most meteors appearing to originate from a point roughly midway between the top of kite-shaped Bootes and the tail of Draco. The best time will be between around 1:00 a.m. and about two hours before sunrise, when the radiant will be rising over the northeastern horizon. Be on the lookout for fireballs as the shower can often produce a number of bright examples.

After the Quadrantids in January, there’s something of a drought until April and, as such, there are no major showers in February or March. There is, however, the Alpha Centaurid shower which usually produces around 6 shooting stars an hour, but can produce up to 25.

Unfortunately, since the radiant lies in the southern constellation of Centaurus, it won’t rise over the horizon for observers in North America, making this a shower where you’ll miss out on seeing a number of meteors. If you want to try your luck, you’ll need to go outside a few hours before dawn (after the Moon has set and while the sky is still dark) and keep your eyes on the southeastern and southwestern horizons.

This month’s shower is similar to the Alpha Centaurids of February in that they only produce about six meteors an hour and the radiant is in a southern hemisphere constellation. In fact, although the shower is named for a star in Norma, its radiant actually lies in the constellation of Scorpius, and very close to Zeta Scorpii.

The problem this year is that the Moon is also a waxing gibbous and will drown out many of those meteors. To make matters worse, it won’t set until about 90 minutes before dawn, which is about the time the radiant will be highest over the southern horizon.

That being the case, you’ll have the best chance of seeing a few meteors about two to two and a half hours before dawn, when the Moon is setting and fairly low but the radiant is rising (albeit also fairly low!) Look toward the east-southeast and the south-southwest but be warned - at an average speed of 42.5 miles per second, these meteors are fast!

Our second major shower of the year, the Lyrids are fairly active and, under ideal conditions, can produce about 18 shooting stars an hour. This year the Moon is a waning gibbous, which means it’ll still be above the horizon when the radiant is at its highest. Fortunately, the radiant will rise around 11:00 p.m., giving you about four or five hours before the Moon starts to pose a problem.

By that time, the radiant will be high above the eastern horizon, and looking towards the northeast and southeast will give you your best chance of seeing a few shooting stars.

There’s good news and bad news for meteor watchers in May. The good news is that the Moon is a waxing crescent and will set fairly early in the evening, but the radiant for the Eta Aquarids won’t rise until a few hours before dawn. (Incidentally, Saturn appears a little way to the west, in neighboring Capricornus).

You could, of course, start looking for meteors during the previous evening or in the hours after midnight, with your best option being to look toward the northeast and southeastern horizons during those times. Under ideal conditions, you could see an average of 50 meteors an hour, but the shower has been known to produce anywhere between 40 and 85.

The June Bootids can be unpredictable at best. Historically, the shower has only produced about 5 or 6 meteors an hour, but it’s prone to sudden outbursts. For example, in 1916, 1921, 1927, and, most recently, in 1998 about 100 or more an hour were reported at various times during the shower’s maximum.

It’s anyone’s guess as to how many you might see this year; you could see 5 or 6, you could see more or you might not see any at all! On the plus side, these meteors are usually pretty bright and slow, making them easy to spot. There’s also a new Moon, so you needn’t worry about it brightening the sky.

Lastly, with the radiant located in Bootes (a constellation best seen in the spring and summer) you won’t have to stay up all night to see them. You can start looking a few hours after sunset on the 26th - at that time, the radiant will be high over the southwestern horizon, so keep your eyes toward the south and west.

With a zenith hourly rate of 25, the Southern Delta Aquariids is a fairly active shower, but they’re also known to be fairly faint. However, as the Moon is a waxing crescent during the shower’s maximum it will set early in the evening, making this a good year to try your luck.

This is one shower you can observe almost all night. The radiant rises a few hours after sunset and is due south at around 3:30 a.m. If you’re meteor watching during the evening of the 29th, then you’ll need to look towards the east and south. However, if you’re outside during the early hours of the morning on the 30th, then look towards the southeast and southwest.

The Perseid meteor shower is, arguably, the most famous of them all. It’s the one that gets all the attention in the media, and not without good reason. It’s one of the most reliable and productive showers of the year and is considered a highlight of the annual astronomical calendar.

Unfortunately, this year the Moon turns full on the 11th and will brighten the sky quite considerably during the shower’s maximum. It will also be rising a few hours before the shower’s radiant with the result that it will brighten the sky throughout almost the entire night. Try your luck a few hours before dawn, when the sky is still dark, the Moon is setting in the southwest and the shower’s radiant will be high in the northeast.

There’s another shower that has its radiant in Perseus, but unlike the primary Perseid meteors of August, the September Epsilon Perseids are fairly minor. Unfortunately, this shower does share one characteristic with its more popular cousin: the phase of the Moon when the shower is at its maximum.

Just as the Moon was full for the Perseids, so it is also full for the September Epsilon Perseids. In fact, it’ll turn full about eight hours after the shower is at maximum, making this a difficult shower to observe. You can either try your luck at about 90 minutes after sunset, when the sky is dark and the Moon is low, (but so is the shower’s radiant), or else at around 5:00 a.m., when the radiant is high over the south and the Moon is low in the west-southwest.

Our fortunes change a little in October, as the Orionids reach their maximum on the 21st when the Moon is a waning crescent. This being the case, you could start looking for meteors from around 90 minutes to 2 hours after sunset or from around midnight, when the radiant is rising over the eastern horizon.

The meteors will appear to originate from a point close to Alhena (Gamma Geminorum) and you’ll need to look towards the northeast and southeast for your best chance of seeing a shooting star. Alternatively, rise early (around 4:30 a.m.) to see the shower when the radiant is high over the south-southeastern horizon. At that time, the Moon will be low in the east and the sky won’t be brightening for about another 60-90 minutes.

Like the Perseids, the Leonids have become a popular shower with the media, mostly due to the meteor storm of 1999. At that time, the shower produced roughly 1,000 meteors an hour, a hundredfold increase over the shower’s typical 10-15 meteors an hour. Unfortunately, despite the Moon being a waning crescent, we should have no expectations of seeing something similar this year.

Another potential issue is that the waning crescent Moon is in Leo this year, with both the Moon and the shower’s radiant rising in the east at around 1:00 a.m. All the same, you can start your observations in the evening hours once the sky turns dark, with the best opportunity coming at around midnight before the Moon makes its appearance.

The last major shower of the year is also, arguably, the finest. The media typically doesn’t give it as much attention as the summer’s Perseids, which is a pity as the Geminids can be more prolific and are also known to be quite colorful. Another big plus is that Gemini is a winter constellation and the radiant rises just a few hours after sunset.

This will give you a decent three or four hours to enjoy the shower without any interference from the Moon, which won’t rise until around 11:00 p.m. (and won’t be much of a hindrance until about an hour later). Keep looking toward the northeast and southeast for the best chance of seeing some shooting stars. The shower’s radiant is due south at around 2:00 a.m., but by that time the Moon will also be much higher in the sky.