Calendar
Dates worth staying up
Showers peak on a night, not a minute. Eclipses do not care if it is a workday. Put the good ones on a paper calendar.
2026-01-03
Meteor
Quadrantid meteors
A sharp northern shower. Peak lasts a few hours. Best after midnight if the Moon is down.
2026-03-03
Eclipse
Total lunar eclipse
The Moon slides through Earth's umbra. Visible from the Pacific, East Asia, and the western Americas.
2026-04-22
Meteor
Lyrid meteors
Modest rates, sometimes a bright fireball. Radiant near Vega in the late-night east.
2026-05-06
Meteor
Eta Aquariid meteors
Halley's debris. Stronger in the southern tropics just before dawn.
2026-08-12
Eclipse
Total solar eclipse
Path over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. Partial over much of Europe and north Africa.
2026-08-12
Meteor
Perseid meteors
The reliable August show. Warm nights, leftover dust from Comet Swift–Tuttle. Lie back after 11 p.m.
2026-08-28
Eclipse
Partial lunar eclipse
A bite out of the full Moon. Europe, Africa, and Asia get the better view.
2026-10-21
Meteor
Orionid meteors
Another Halley stream. Fast meteors from Orion after midnight.
2026-11-17
Meteor
Leonid meteors
Swift, often leaving trains. Not a storm year — still worth an hour of dark sky.
2026-12-14
Meteor
Geminid meteors
The richest reliable shower. Slow, bright, plenty of them. Coat, chair, thermos.
2026-12-22
Meteor
Ursid meteors
A small northern shower near the Little Dipper. Easy to ignore, occasionally generous.
2027-01-04
Meteor
Quadrantid meteors
Same brief northern peak. Dress warmer than you think.
2027-02-06
Eclipse
Annular solar eclipse
A ring of fire over the south Pacific and southern South America.
2027-02-20
Eclipse
Penumbral lunar eclipse
A subtle shading. Photographers notice; casual eyes might not.
2027-08-02
Eclipse
Total solar eclipse
A long totality across north Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. One of the decade's great paths.