Geminids 2026
The peak falls on Monday 14 December 2026 at 13:41 UTC, with the Moon 25% lit — a mostly dark sky — a crescent Moon that is up for part of the night at most.
- Peak instant
- Moon at peak
- 25% lit, waxing crescent
- Active
- 3 December 2026 – 20 December 2026
- Zenithal hourly rate
- 150
- Radiant declination
- +32.3°
- Rank for Moon in 2026
- 5 of 12
What 2026 actually offers
Of the twelve showers on this site, 4 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 2.6, every magnitude of extra sky brightness divides the count you see by 2.6.
The radiant passes overhead at 32.3°N and never rises at all south of 57.7°S. 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
- new Moon 9 December 2026 00:52 UTC
- first quarter 17 December 2026 05:43 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 4 December – 20 December.
| Date | Weekday | Moon lit | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 December 2026 | Friday | 4% | new Moon |
| 12 December 2026 | Saturday | 8% | waxing crescent |
| 13 December 2026 | Sunday | 13% | waxing crescent |
| 14 December 2026 peak | Monday | 21% | waxing crescent |
| 15 December 2026 | Tuesday | 29% | waxing crescent |
| 16 December 2026 | Wednesday | 38% | first quarter |
| 17 December 2026 | Thursday | 48% | first 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.