May 2026
One shower peaks this month. The best Moon belongs to the eta-Aquariids on 6 May 2026, 81% lit — a bright sky — a near-full Moon will leave only the brightest meteors visible.
Peaking in May
| Peak (UTC) | Shower | Weekday | Moon | ZHR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eta-Aquariids | Wednesday | 81% | 50 |
The Moon in May
Quarter phases in UTC. The days around new Moon are the dark window: if a shower is active across it, those nights often beat a moonlit peak.
- full Moon 1 May 2026 17:23 UTC
- last quarter 9 May 2026 21:11 UTC
- new Moon 16 May 2026 20:01 UTC
- first quarter 23 May 2026 11:11 UTC
- full Moon 31 May 2026 08:45 UTC
How to use this month
A peak is an instant, not a night. What matters for you is whether the radiant is high and the sky is dark during the hours you are actually outside, which depends on your latitude and your weather — neither of which a calendar can know. Use this page to pick candidate nights, then check the verdict for your own coordinates on the day.
Activity windows this month: eta-Aquariids (19 April – 27 May).