Meteor Activity Outlook for 4-10 July 2026

During this period the moon will reach its last quarter phase on Tuesday July 7th. At that time the moon will be located 90 degrees west of the sun in the sky rise near 23:30 local standard time on the previous evening. As the week progresses the moon will become less of a problem as its phase wanes and it rises later in the morning.

This weekend evening observers can expect total hourly rates of 2 from mid-northern latitudes (45°N) and near 3 from tropical southern locations (25°S). Morning observers may see rates near 7 from mid-northern latitudes and near 8 from tropical southern locations. Morning rates are reduced due to moonlight.

The actual rates observed will also depend on factors such as personal light and motion perception, local weather conditions, alertness, and experience in watching meteor activity. Note that the hourly rates listed below are estimates based on observations from dark-sky sites away from urban light sources. Observers viewing from urban areas will see less activity, as only the brighter meteors will be visible from such locations.

The radiant (the area of the sky from which meteors appear to originate) positions and rates listed below are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning, June 27/28. These positions do not change greatly from day to day, so the listed coordinates may be used throughout this entire period. Most star atlases (available online, in bookstores, and at planetariums) include maps with celestial coordinate grids that can help you locate these positions in the sky.

I have also included charts of the sky that display the radiant positions for evening, midnight, and morning. The center of each chart represents the sky directly overhead at the corresponding hour. These charts are oriented towards facing south but can be used for any direction by rotating them accordingly. A planisphere or planetarium app is also useful for showing the sky at any time of night on any date of the year.

Activity from each radiant is best seen when it is positioned highest in the sky (culmination), either due north or south along the meridian, depending on your latitude. Radiants that rise after midnight will not reach their highest point until daylight; therefore, it is best to view them during the last few hours of the night.

It must be remembered that meteor activity is rarely seen directly at the radiant position. Rather, meteors shoot outward from the radiant, so it is best to center your field of view so that the radiant lies near the edge rather than the center. Viewing in this way allows you to trace the path of each meteor back to the radiant (if it belongs to a shower) or in another direction if it is sporadic. Meteor activity is not visible from radiants located far below the horizon.

The positions below are listed in west-to-east order by right ascension (celestial longitude). The positions listed first are located farther west and are therefore accessible earlier in the night, while those listed farther down the list rise later.

The following sources of meteoric activity are expected to be active this week:

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The alpha Capricornids (CAP) are active from July 7 through August 13, peaking on July 30th. The radiant is currently located at 19:32 (293) -15. This position lies in northeastern Sagittarius, 3 degrees northeast of the 4thg magnitude star known as Rho¹ Sagittarii. Current rates are expected to be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen near 01:00 LST, when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. With an entry velocity of 27 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium-slow velocity.

The large Anthelion (ANT) radiant is currently centered at 19:44  (296) -21. This position lies in eastern Sagittarius, 2 degrees southwest of the faint star known as 58 Sagittarii. This radiant is best placed near 01:00 LST when it lies on the meridian and lies highest in the southern sky. Rates at this time should be near 1 per hour as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and 2 per hour as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 30 km/sec., the average Anthelion meteor would be of medium-slow velocity.

The Northern June Aquilids (NZC) has been known as a weak shower for nearly 100 years. Details on these meteors are quite variable, depending on the source. It is active for at least six weeks with maximum activity occurring around the 1^st of July. The current radiant is thought to be active near 20:44 (311) -05. This area of the sky is located in western Aquarius 1 degree west of the 4th magnitude star known as 3 Aquarii. This area of the sky is best placed near 0200 LST when it lies highest above the southern horizon. Hourly rates at this time should be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 39 km/sec., these meteors would be of medium velocity.

The Microscopiids (MIC) were discovered by G. Gartrell and W. G. Elford, in their study of southern hemisphere meteor streams. This stream is active from June 25 through July 16 with maximum activity occurring on July 3rd. The radiant is currently located at 21:08 (317) -27. This area of the sky is located on the Microscopium/Capricornus border, 2 degrees east of the 4^th magnitude star known as omega Capricornii. This radiant is best placed near 0200 LST, when it lies on the meridian and is located highest in the southern sky. Hourly rates at this time should be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 40 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium-slow velocity. This shower is synonymous with the Southern June Aquilids (SZC).

The July Pegasids (JPE) are active from July 4-28 with maximum activity occurring on July 12th. The radiant is currently located at 22:52 (343) +09. This area of the sky is located in southern Pegasus, near the spot occupied by the faint star known as sigma Pegasi. This radiant is best seen during the last dark hour of the night when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky.  Rates are expected to be less than 1 per hour this week no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 64 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity.

The zeta Cassiopeiids (ZCS) were discovered Przemysław Zoładek and Mariusz Wisniewski during a Polish meteor workshop in 2005 and also by members of the Croatian Meteor Network. These meteors are active from July 7-22 with maximum activity occurring on July 15. The current position of the radiant is 23:28 (352) +48. This position lies in northwestern, 2 degrees north of the 4^th magnitude star known as Udkadua (lambda Andromedae). Rates are currently expected to be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen near during the last dark hour of the night when the radiant lies highest in the northern sky. Observers in the northern hemisphere are better situated to view this activity as the radiant rises much higher in the sky before dawn compared to southern latitudes. With an entry velocity of 53 km/sec., the average zeta Cassiopeiid meteor would be of medium-swift velocity.

The phi Piscids (PPS) were discovered by Dr. Peter Brown using Canadian radar data (CMOR). This is a complex shower involving two streams that cannot be separated visual means. These meteors are active from June 21-July 28 with maximum activity occurring on June 30^th. The current position of this radiant lies near 01:08 (017) +27, which places it in northeastern Pisces, 1 degree north of the faint star known as phi Andromedae. These meteors are best seen during the last hour prior to dawn when the radiant lies highest in the eastern sky while it is still dark. Current hourly rates are expected to be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 65 km/sec., these meteors would have a swift velocity.

The c-Andromedids (CAN) were discovered by Sirko Molau and Juergen Rendtel using video data from the IMO network. Activity from this source is seen from June 21 through July 15 with maximum activity occurring on July 7. The radiant currently lies at 01:40 (025) +46, which places it in northeastern Andromeda, 3 degrees south of the magnitude star known as Nembus (51 Andromedae). This area of the sky is best seen during the last dark hour before dawn when the radiant lies highest in the eastern sky. Observers in the northern hemisphere are better situated to view this activity as the radiant rises much higher in the sky before dawn compared to southern latitudes. Current rates would be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 57 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity.

The July chi Arietids (JXA) were discovered by two investigating teams in Europe using video data from European video Meteor Network Database (EDMOND), SonotaCo, 2013; and CMN, 2013. Activity from this stream is seen from June 26 through Aug 06 with maximum activity occurring on July 17th. The radiant currently lies at 01:56 (029) +06, which places it in southeastern Pisces, 3 degrees north of the 4^th magnitude star known as Alrischa (alpha Piscium). This area of the sky is best seen during the last dark hour before dawn when the radiant lies highest in a dark sky. Current rates are expected to be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 68 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity.

Sporadic meteors are those meteors that cannot be associated with any known meteor shower. All meteor showers are evolving and disperse over time to the point where they are no longer recognizable. Away from the peaks of the major annual showers, these sporadic meteors make up the bulk of the activity seen each night. As seen from the mid-Northern Hemisphere (45N) one would expect to see during this period approximately 6 sporadic meteors per hour during the last hour before dawn as seen from rural observing sites. Evening rates would be near 2 per hour. As seen from the tropical southern latitudes (25S), morning rates would be near 6 per hour as seen from rural observing sites and 2 per hour during the evening hours. Locations between these two extremes would see activity between these listed figures.  Morning rates are reduced due to moonlight.

The list below provides information in tabular form on active showers within reach of the visual observer. Hourly rates are often less than one, so these sources are rarely listed as visual targets in most meteor shower catalogs. If you wish to associate as many meteors as possible with known sources, you will appreciate these listings.

Before claiming to have observed meteors from these Class IV showers, determine whether they truly belong to them and are not chance alignments of sporadic meteors. Note parameters such as duration, length, radiant distance, and elevation to help compute the probability of shower association.

It should be remembered that slow meteors can appear in fast showers, but fast meteors cannot be produced by slow showers. Slower showers have velocities less than 35 km/sec. Slow meteors from fast showers usually occur close to the radiant or low in the sky.

The table on page 23 of the IMO’s 2026 Meteor Shower Calendar is a helpful tool for identifying meteors. If you record the length and duration of each meteor, you can use this chart to estimate the probability of shower association. If the angular velocity matches the table values, your meteor likely belongs to that shower.

Recognizing meteors from obscure showers is not for beginning observers—it takes many hours of practice to develop an instinct for what you are seeing. It is our hope that you will move beyond simply watching meteors as a celestial fireworks display and help expand our knowledge by classifying each meteor you observe.

Rates and positions on the table are exact for Saturday night/Sunday morning July 4/5

You can keep track of the activity of these meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal. You can move the sky globe to see different areas of the sky. Colored dots indicate shower meteors while white dots indicate sporadic (random) activity. The large orange disk indicates the position of the sun so little activity will be seen in that area of the sky.

Class Explanation: A scale to group meteor showers by their intensity:

• Class I: the strongest annual showers with Zenith Hourly Rates normally ten or better.
• Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR’s normally two to ten.
• Class III: showers that do not provide annual activity. These showers are rarely active yet have the potential to produce a major display on occasion.
• Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR’s rarely exceeding two. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. These weak showers are also good targets for video and photographic work. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III.
  

Robert Lunsford

Bob has been interested in the stars as far back as he can recall His first experience with meteors was a biggie, the 1966 Leonid shower. In 1980, a major awaking occurred. He received a sample copy of Meteor News. He was amazed to learn there was a group actually devoted strictly to meteor observing! He joined the group also started to view some of the minor showers list among the pages of Meteor News. Lastly, he was contracted by Springer Publishing in 2007 to write a book on observing meteors. The book is now available and hopefully will be a useful guide to all interested in the enjoyable field of meteor observing.