eta-Aquariids 2026
The peak falls on Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 09:01 UTC, with the Moon 81% lit — a bright sky — a near-full Moon will leave only the brightest meteors visible.
- Peak instant
- Moon at peak
- 81% lit, waning gibbous
- Active
- 18 April 2026 – 27 May 2026
- Zenithal hourly rate
- 50
- Radiant declination
- −0.5°
- Rank for Moon in 2026
- 9 of 12
What 2026 actually offers
Of the twelve showers on this site, 8 peak under a darker Moon in 2026. The darkest peak of the year belongs to the Perseids, with the Moon 0% lit. Moonlight does not remove meteors, it removes the faint ones: with a population index of 2.4, every magnitude of extra sky brightness divides the count you see by 2.4.
The radiant passes overhead at 0.5°S and never rises at all north of 89.5°N. That geometry does not change from year to year, so if this shower does not work from your latitude, no amount of moonless sky will fix it — check the latitude table before making plans around the date.
What is not knowable this far out is cloud. Numerical forecasts are useful inside about three days and steadily less so beyond that, which is why the verdict for a specific night is computed on the night from your own coordinates rather than published in advance.
The Moon across the whole activity window
- first quarter 24 April 2026 02:32 UTC
- 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
The week around the peak
Moon illumination on each date at 00:00 UTC. Rate falls away either side of the peak, so a much darker sky two nights out is only worth taking when the activity window is broad — this one runs 19 April – 27 May.
| Date | Weekday | Moon lit | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 2026 | Sunday | 98% | full Moon |
| 4 May 2026 | Monday | 95% | waning gibbous |
| 5 May 2026 | Tuesday | 90% | waning gibbous |
| 6 May 2026 peak | Wednesday | 84% | waning gibbous |
| 7 May 2026 | Thursday | 77% | waning gibbous |
| 8 May 2026 | Friday | 68% | last quarter |
| 9 May 2026 | Saturday | 59% | last quarter |
Get reminded before the 2026 peak
One email seven days before a peak so you can keep the night free, and one on the evening itself with the verdict for your location. If your sky is going to be hopeless that night, the second email tells you the next good night instead of pretending otherwise.