When is the next meteor shower in the UK?
Your guide to when you can see shooting stars in the UK, including how many you can expect to spot.
If you're interested in getting into astronomy, watching a meteor shower is a great way to get started. They're predictable and easy to see, and you don't need any expensive equipment. In fact, you're better off without a telescope; just a lawn chair, a blanket and a flask of a hot drink.
We can see occasional meteors on any night of the year, and these meteors are known as 'sporadics'. They can travel in any direction, and are not associated with any particular (known) event. Far more reliable is to look out for meteor showers, which occur at the same time every year. Read on to find out when you can see each meteor shower in 2023, when the peaks are and how many meteors you can expect to see.
Don't worry if there aren't any showers any time soon – you can also check out our full Moon calendar and astronomy for beginners guide.
What is a meteor shower?
A meteor shower is a stream of shooting stars that appears to diverge from one particular area of the sky. This point is known as the 'radiant', and a meteor shower is named for the area of the sky where the meteors appear to originate. For example, the Lyrids seem to come from the constellation of Lyra, and the Leonids from Leo.
As comets travel around the Sun, they leave a trail of debris behind. When these fragments, most of which are smaller than a grain of sand, enter the Earth's atmosphere, we call them meteors.
Meteors travel at incredibly high speeds and almost all of them completely disintegrate on their journey through the atmosphere. What we see is the flash of light they give off as they disintegrate.
Read more about meteors:
- Perseids: 2021's most active meteor shower in pictures
- How can we tell that a meteorite has come from a particular planet?
- Life on Mars: The story of meteorite ALH84001
When is the next meteor shower in the UK?
The next meteor showers to grace the skies of the UK are the Lyrids and the Eta Aquariids which begin in April. The showers are both expected to peak on 22-23 April and 6 May respectively.
The dates of when you can see each shower, plus the peak and the number you can expect to see per hour, are below.
Quadrantids
Visible: 28 December 2022 to 12 January 2023
Peak: 4 January
Rate/hour: 110
Lyrids
Visible: 14-30 April
Peak: 22-23 April
Rate/hour: 18
Eta Aquariids
Visible: 19 April - 28 May
Peak: 6 May
Rate/hour: 50
Alpha Capricornids
Visible: 3 July - 15 August
Peak: 30 July
Rate/hour: 5
Southern Delta Aquariids
Visible: 12 July - 23 August
Peak: 30 July
Rate/hour: 25
Perseids
Visible: 17 July - 24 August
Peak: 12-13 August
Rate/hour: 100
Orionids
Visible: 2 October - 7 November
Peak: 21-22 October
Rate/hour: 25
Draconids
Visible: 6-10 October
Peak: 8-9 October
Rate/hour: 10
Northern Taurids
Visible: 20 October - 10 December
Peak: 12-13 November
Rate/hour: 5
Leonids
Visible: 6-30 November
Peak: 17-18 November
Rate/hour: 10
Geminids
Visible: 4-20 December
Peak: 14-15 December
Rate/hour: 150
Ursids
Visible: 17-26 December
Peak: 22-23 December
Rate/hour: 10
Read more:
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