Quadrantids 2027
The peak falls on Monday 4 January 2027 at 03:34 UTC, with the Moon 12% lit — a dark sky — the Moon is close to new and takes almost nothing away.
- Peak instant
- Moon at peak
- 12% lit, waning crescent
- Active
- 27 December 2026 – 12 January 2027
- Zenithal hourly rate
- 110
- Radiant declination
- +49.8°
- Rank for Moon in 2027
- 3 of 12
What 2027 actually offers
Of the twelve showers on this site, 2 peak under a darker Moon in 2027. The darkest peak of the year belongs to the eta-Aquariids, with the Moon 0% lit. Moonlight does not remove meteors, it removes the faint ones: with a population index of 2.1, every magnitude of extra sky brightness divides the count you see by 2.1.
The radiant passes overhead at 49.8°N and never rises at all south of 40.2°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
- last quarter 30 December 2026 19:00 UTC
- new Moon 7 January 2027 20:25 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 28 December – 12 January.
| Date | Weekday | Moon lit | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | Friday | 38% | last quarter |
| 2 January 2027 | Saturday | 28% | waning crescent |
| 3 January 2027 | Sunday | 20% | waning crescent |
| 4 January 2027 peak | Monday | 13% | waning crescent |
| 5 January 2027 | Tuesday | 7% | waning crescent |
| 6 January 2027 | Wednesday | 3% | new Moon |
| 7 January 2027 | Thursday | 1% | new Moon |
Get reminded before the 2027 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.