Geminids 2026

Peak night: December 14, 2026 · Moon: 23% illuminated

The Geminids are active Dec 4 – Dec 20, radiating from Gemini, with up to ~150 meteors/hour under a perfect dark sky at peak. They are debris from asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

In 2026, the moon is 23% illuminated on the peak night: a good year: the moon is a manageable crescent.

How to watch

  • No telescope, no binoculars, meteors are a naked-eye show. Bring a reclining chair and 30 minutes of patience for your eyes to adapt.
  • The later the better: radiants climb after midnight, and rates climb with them.
  • Darkness matters more than anything else. A Bortle 2 sky shows several times more meteors than a suburban one.

Where to watch from

The darkest measured skies in our directory, any of these turns a good shower into a memorable one. Each guide lists places to stay nearby, rated for the darkness at the hotel itself, so you can watch until the rates peak and sleep five minutes later: