Meteor Activity Outlook for July 18-24, 2026

During this period the moon will reach its first quarter phase on Tuesday July 21st. At that time the half-illuminated moon will be located 90 degrees east of the sun and will set near midnight local daylight saving time (LDST). As the week progresses the moon will enter the morning sky, reducing the time available to view under dark skies.

This weekend evening observers can expect total hourly rates of 3 from mid-northern latitudes (45°N) and near 3 from tropical southern locations (25°S). Morning observers may see rates near 15 from mid-northern latitudes and near 16 from tropical southern locations. Evening 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, July 18/19. 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 20:00 (300) -12. This position lies in northeastern Sagittarius, 3 degrees west of the 4th magnitude star known as Algedi (Alpha² Capricorni). Current rates are expected to be near than 2 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen near 02:00 LDST, when the radiant lies highest in the southern sky. With an entry velocity of 25 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium-slow velocity.

The large Anthelion (ANT) radiant is currently centered at 20:08 (302) -20. This position lies in western Capricornus, 3 degrees southwest of the faint star known as upsilon Capricorni. This radiant is best placed near 02:00 LDST when it lies on the meridian and lies nearly overhead. Rates at this time should be near 2 per hour as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and 3 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 21:48 (322) -02. This area of the sky is located in northern Aquarius, 3 degrees southwest of the 3rd magnitude star known as Sadalmelik (alpha 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 37 km/sec., these meteors would be of medium velocity.

The Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) are active from July 19 through August 13 with maximum activity occurring on July 30. The radiant is currently located at 22:08 (332) -18. This area of the sky is located in southern Aquarius, 4 degrees south of the 4th magnitude star known as iota Aquarii. This radiant is best placed near 0300 LDST, when it lies highest in the southern sky. Hourly rates at this time should be less than 1 as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and near 1 as seen from south of the equator.  With an entry velocity of 42 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of medium velocity.

The July Pegasids (JPE) are active from July 4-28 with maximum activity occurring on July 12th. The radiant is currently located at 23:36 (354) +13. This area of the sky is located in southern Pegasus, 5 degrees southeast of the 2^nd magnitude star known as Markab (alpha 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 00:44 (011) +52. This position lies in southern Cassiopeia, 5 degrees south of the 2nd magnitude star known as Schedar (alpha Cassiopeiae). 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 58 km/sec., the average zeta Cassiopeiid meteor would be of medium-swift velocity.

The Perseids (PER) are active from July 17 through August 29, with maximum activity occurring on August 13th. The radiant is currently located at 01:08 (017) +51. This position lies in southern Cassiopeia, 4 degrees north of the 4th magnitude star known as phi Andromedae. This area of the sky is best placed for viewing during the last dark hour before dawn when it lies highest in the northeastern sky. Maximum activity is not until August 13th so current rates are expected to be near 1 as seen from the Northern Hemisphere and less than 1 as seen from south of the equator. With an entry velocity of 58 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift velocity. Viewers in the southern hemisphere have a limited view of this shower as the radiant only rises just before dawn.

The eta Eridanids (ERI) are active from July 10^th all the way to September 10^th with maximum activity occurring on August 5^th. The radiant currently lies near 01:44 (026) -20. This position lies in southern Cetus, 3 degrees northwest of the 4th magnitude star known as upsilon Ceti. Current rates are expected to be less than 1 per hour no matter your location. These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour prior to dawn when the radiant lies highest above the norttheastern horizon in a dark sky. With an entry velocity of 64 km/sec., the average meteor from this source would be of swift speed.

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 01:48 (027) +29, which places it in western Triangulum, 2 degrees west of the third magnitude star known as Mothallah (alpha Trianguli). 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 67 km/sec., these meteors would have a 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 02:32 (038) +10, which places it in northeastern Cetus, 2 degrees west of the 4^th magnitude star known as mu Ceti. This area of the sky is best seen during the last dark hour before dawn when the radiant lies highest in the eastern sky. Current rates are expected to be less than 1 no matter your location. With an entry velocity of 69 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 10 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 also be near 10 per hour as seen from rural observing sites and 2 per hour during the evening hours.

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 18/19

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.
  

Tags: Alpha Capricornids Anthelion Meteors Eta Eridanids July chi Arietids July Meteor Activity July Meteor Showers July Pegasids Meteors Northern June Aquilids Perseids Phi Piscids Southern delta Aquariids zeta Cassiopeiids

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.