Meteor showers in 2029: a dark-sky Perseid year.
The 2029 Perseids peak on the night of August 12 to 13 with a 9 percent crescent that sets soon after dusk, the darkest Perseid sky since the new-moon peak of 2026. The eta Aquariids get a half moon, the Lyrids a moon that sets after midnight. The rest of 2029 is hard going: the Quadrantids, Orionids, Leonids, Geminids, and Ursids all peak under a moon between 64 and 99 percent lit. If you plan one meteor night in 2029, make it the Perseids.
A note on the times. The International Meteor Organization publishes its calendar about a year ahead, and the 2029 edition does not exist yet. The peak instants here are computed from the IMO's own solar-longitude value for each shower's maximum, the same method the IMO uses; tested against the published 2027 calendar it lands within 3 minutes on 7 of 8 showers. When the IMO 2029 calendar is out, its figures replace these lines, and the replacement is dated.
When is every meteor shower peak in 2029?
| Shower | Peak (UTC) | Rate (ZHR) | Moon at peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | Wed, Jan 3, 15:42 | 80, can reach 200 | 85 percent, waning gibbous |
| Lyrids | Sun, Apr 22, 13:59 | 18 | 63 percent, waxing gibbous |
| eta Aquariids | Sun, May 6, 03:30 | 50 | 50 percent, last quarter |
| Perseids | Sun, Aug 12, 20:29 | 110 or more | 9 percent, waxing crescent |
| Orionids | Sun, Oct 21, 12:52 | 20 | 99 percent, full |
| Leonids | Sat, Nov 17, 18:15 | 15 | 89 percent, waxing gibbous |
| Geminids | Fri, Dec 14, 08:11 | 150 | 64 percent, waxing gibbous |
| Ursids | Sat, Dec 22, 16:37 | 10, occasionally 50 | 94 percent, waning gibbous |
ZHR is the zenithal hourly rate, the idealized count under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead. Real counts from a good dark site run about a third to a half of it.
When do the Perseids peak in 2029?
The night of August 12 to 13, with the computed maximum at 20:29 UTC on August 12. That instant is evening in Europe and Africa and late afternoon in the Americas, so Europe gets the peak itself as the radiant rises and North America gets the strong hours that follow it after local midnight. The new moon falls on August 10, leaving a 9 percent crescent that sets soon after dusk. From then until first light the sky is as dark as August allows, and rates of 60 to 100 an hour from a good site are realistic.
When do the Geminids peak in 2029?
The night of December 13 to 14, with the computed maximum at 08:11 UTC on December 14, which favors North America in the pre-dawn hours. A 64 percent waxing gibbous moon is up until about 01:00 to 02:00 local time, so the useful window is the few hours between moonset and dawn. The Geminids are strong enough, up to 150 an hour, that even a shortened window shows plenty of bright ones. A fair year.
When do the eta Aquariids peak in 2029?
May 6 at 03:30 UTC by computation, with a last-quarter moon at 50 percent rising around local midnight. This shower is best from the southern hemisphere and the tropics, where the radiant in Aquarius climbs well before dawn. Rates of 40 to 50 an hour are possible from those latitudes; northern observers see far fewer, low in the east before sunrise.
Which 2029 showers does the moon spoil?
Most of them. The Quadrantids on January 3 peak under an 85 percent moon, the Orionids on October 21 under a moon 99 percent full, the Leonids on November 17 at 89 percent, and the Ursids on December 22 at 94 percent. For each of those, only the brightest meteors get through, and rates drop to a handful an hour. The Lyrids on April 22 are a middle case: a 63 percent waxing gibbous moon sets in the small hours, leaving a dark window before dawn on the 23rd.
How do you watch a meteor shower?
You need no equipment. Get to a dark site away from city light, give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adapt, lie back, and take in the whole sky rather than staring at one spot. The hours after local midnight are almost always better than the evening because your side of Earth is then facing into the stream. Check the Moon before you drive out with tonight's moon phase, and note that the two total lunar eclipses of 2029 fall on June 26 and December 20, far from any major shower peak.
Quick answers.
What is the best meteor shower of 2029?
The Perseids on the night of August 12 to 13. A 9 percent crescent sets after dusk, so the whole night is dark, and rates of 60 to 100 an hour are realistic from a good site.
Are the 2029 Geminids worth watching?
Yes, after moonset. A 64 percent moon sets in the small hours of December 14, leaving a dark window before dawn for the strongest shower of the year.
Are the 2029 meteor shower times official?
Not yet. They are computed from the IMO's solar-longitude values using the IMO's own method. The IMO 2029 calendar replaces them on publication, and the replacement is dated.