- The 2026 Draconids peak on the night of 8 Oct–9 Oct; active 6 Oct – 10 Oct.
- Up to 10 meteors an hour in a perfect sky; on the peak night in London about 5 from a dark site, about 1 from town.
- The Moon will not interfere: the sky will be dark.
- The radiant is in Draco, highest around 19:40.
- Source: 21P/Giacobini–Zinner; speed 21 km/s.
When to look in 2026
The Draconids are active from 6 Oct to 10 Oct. The curve shows activity rising and falling, the dots under it how much of the Moon is lit each night.
Night by night
For each night the best hour is computed: the radiant high, the sky dark, the Moon in the way least. A dark site means out of town where the faintest stars show; town means a bright suburban sky.
| Night | ZHR | Moon | Best | Dark site | Town |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 6 Oct | 0 | 16 % | 21:00 | <1 | <1 |
| Wed 7 Oct | 1 | 9 % | 21:00 | <1 | <1 |
| Thu 8 OctPeakmost meteors | 8 | 4 % | 19:40 | 5 | 1 |
| Fri 9 Oct | 1 | 1 % | 19:40 | <1 | <1 |
| Sat 10 Oct | 0 | 0 % | 19:40 | <1 | <1 |
Where to look
The meteors fly out of the radiant in Draco. In London it stays above the horizon all night and is highest, 69°, around 19:40.
You do not have to look at the radiant itself: meteors appear all over the sky, and the longest ones 40–60° away from it. Lie back, take in as much sky as you can and stay with it for 20–30 minutes so your eyes adapt.
Where they come from
The Draconids are dust from Comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner. The comet orbits the Sun every 6.6 years, and the strength of the shower depends on how close the Earth passes to fresh clouds of its dust.
History
Most years the Draconids give only a few an hour, but 1933 and 1946 brought true meteor storms, thousands an hour. In 2011 observers counted about 300 an hour, in 2018 about 150.
What they look like and how to watch
Draconids are among the slowest meteors (21 km/s). Unlike most showers they are best in the evening: the radiant in Draco is highest after dusk and sinks later in the night.
How many meteors you will really see
The ZHR (10) is how many meteors an observer would see in an hour in a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. The real count is always lower: the lower the radiant, the more meteors stay below the horizon, and every step of sky brightness hides the faintest ones.
This page uses the International Meteor Organization formula: hourly rate = ZHR × sine of the radiant altitude ÷ r^(6.5 − limiting magnitude). For this shower r = 2.6. A dark site is taken as showing stars to magnitude 6.0, a town to 4.5; moonlight takes off up to 1.8 magnitudes.
How to photograph a meteor
You need a camera with manual mode and a tripod. Wide-angle lens (14–24 mm), aperture wide open (f/1.8–f/2.8), ISO 1600–3200, exposures of 15–25 seconds. Focus manually on a bright star and tape the ring.
Shoot continuously with an intervalometer or remote, frame after frame for an hour or more. Meteors are random, so patience wins: one or two an hour is a normal catch. Aim 40–60° from the radiant, above the glow of the horizon.
Dates in the coming years
| Year | Peak | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Friday · 8 October 2027 | 63 % |
| 2028 | Saturday · 7 October 2028 | 82 % |
| 2029 | Sunday · 7 October 2029 | 1 % |
| 2030 | Tuesday · 8 October 2030 | 92 % |
| 2031 | Wednesday · 8 October 2031 | 46 % |
| 2032 | Thursday · 7 October 2032 | 12 % |
Other meteor showers
Questions people ask
When are the Draconids in 2026?
The peak is on the night of 8 Oct–9 Oct. The shower is active from 6 Oct to 10 Oct, so meteors show for several nights before and after.
What time is best?
In London on the peak night, around 19:40, when the radiant is 69° up and the Moon interferes least.
How many meteors will I see?
A ZHR of 10 is the perfect-sky figure. In London on the peak night expect about 5 an hour from a dark site and about 1 from town.
Which way should I look?
Meteors come from the direction of Draco but appear all over the sky. Look 40–60° away from the radiant, at the darkest part of the sky.
What causes the Draconids?
Dust left by 21P/Giacobini–Zinner. The Earth crosses the stream at the same time every year, and the grains burn up in the atmosphere at 21 km/s.
Will the Moon get in the way?
The Moon will not interfere: the sky will be dark.
- International Meteor Organization, Meteor Shower Calendar: activity periods, solar longitudes of the peaks, ZHR, population index.
- IMO Visual Observing Handbook: the hourly rate formula (ZHR, radiant altitude, limiting magnitude).
- Astronomy Engine (Don Cross): positions of the Sun, the Moon and the radiant.
- JPL Small-Body Database: comet and asteroid orbits.
The peak date is computed from the Sun's ecliptic longitude. The activity curve is the IMO model ZHR(λ) = ZHRmax · 10^(−B·|λ − λmax|). For each night the radiant altitude and the Sun and Moon are computed every 20 minutes; the hour with the highest expected count is shown.