Astronomical calendar
Meteor showers 2026 and 2027
Our scheduled departures at the peak of a meteor shower: what the Moon will be doing that night and when to look up from the desert, one of the darkest skies in northern Mexico.
Best skies: Orionids 2026 · Northern Taurids 2026 · Geminids 2026
2026
Draconids
Good skyPeak: night of 8–9 October · active 6 October – 10 October
- Moon at the peak
- new moon, 2%
- Best time
- 19:35 to 23:30
- Up to
- 10 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Draco
A short, unpredictable shower: almost always modest, in rare years very strong. Unlike the others, it is best seen at nightfall. Its meteors are slow. It comes from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner; its meteors enter at 20 km/s.
Departure at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 7–10 October (sold out).
Southern Taurids
Excellent skyPeak: night of 9–10 October · active 10 September – 20 November
- Moon at the peak
- new moon, 0%
- Best time
- 20:40 to 05:15
- Up to
- 5 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Taurus
Few meteors, but slow and sometimes very bright: it is the autumn fireball season. Active almost all night for weeks. It comes from comet 2P/Encke; its meteors enter at 27 km/s.
Departures at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 7–10 October (sold out) and Noche de Estrellas, 10–11 October (sold out).
Orionids
Good skyPeak: night of 20–21 October · active 2 October – 7 November
- Moon at the peak
- waxing gibbous, 74%
- Best time
- 02:05 to 05:20
- Up to
- 20 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Orion
The second yearly meeting with Halley’s debris: very fast meteors, some with lingering trails. Visible from midnight, best before dawn. It comes from Halley’s comet; its meteors enter at 66 km/s.
Departure at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 21–24 October.
Northern Taurids
Excellent skyPeak: night of 11–12 November · active 20 October – 10 December
- Moon at the peak
- waxing crescent, 8%
- Best time
- 19:45 to 05:40
- Up to
- 5 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Taurus
Sisters of the Southern Taurids: a few per hour, slow, with the occasional fireball. Visible almost all night. It comes from comet 2P/Encke; its meteors enter at 29 km/s.
Departure at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 12–15 November.
Geminids
Excellent skyPeak: night of 13–14 December · active 4 December – 20 December
- Moon at the peak
- waxing crescent, 23%
- Best time
- 21:45 to 06:00
- Up to
- 150 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Gemini
The best shower of the year: the richest and the easiest to see, because the radiant rises at nightfall and stays high all night. Medium-speed meteors, many of them bright. It is cold in the desert: come prepared. It comes from asteroid 3200 Phaethon; its meteors enter at 35 km/s.
Departures at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 11–14 December (sold out) and Noche de Estrellas, 13–14 December.
2027
Lyrids
The Moon gets in the wayPeak: night of 22–23 April · active 14 April – 30 April
- Moon at the peak
- waning gibbous, 94%
- Best time
- No dark window with the radiant high
- Up to
- 18 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Lyra
A moderate spring shower, with fast meteors and the occasional very bright one. The radiant, next to the star Vega, climbs high before dawn. It comes from comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1); its meteors enter at 49 km/s.
Departure at the peak: Sonora Salvaje, 21–24 April.
Eta Aquariids
Low radiantPeak: night of 5–6 May · active 19 April – 28 May
- Moon at the peak
- new moon, 0%
- Best time
- 03:50 to 04:15
- Up to
- 50 meteors per hour*
- Radiant
- Aquarius
Debris from Halley’s comet. From northern Mexico the radiant rises late, so they are seen mostly in the last hour and a half before dawn, with very fast meteors and long trails. It comes from Halley’s comet; its meteors enter at 66 km/s.
Departures at the peak: Noche de Estrellas, 5–6 May and Sonora Salvaje, 5–8 May.
* Zenithal hourly rate: the meteors you would see in an hour with a perfect sky and the radiant straight overhead. In practice you see between a half and a third of that, and fewer with the Moon up. Peak dates from the International Meteor Organization calendar; they can come a few hours early or late. The “best time” is the part of the night with a dark, moonless sky and the radiant more than 20° high, in Sonora time (UTC−7).
How to watch a meteor shower
- Away from lights. A city wipes out almost every meteor. In El Pinacate there is no artificial light for kilometres.
- Without the Moon. Check the phase: with a high, bright Moon you only see the brightest meteors.
- After midnight. At that hour we are heading straight into the stream of particles and the radiant is higher.
- Lying down, and patient. Let your eyes adjust to the dark for 20 or 30 minutes, without looking at your phone. Watch a wide area of sky, about 45° from the radiant.
- Wrapped up warm. In autumn and winter the desert drops to a few degrees at night. A sleeping bag and a hot drink make all the difference.
Want to know what else is in the sky each night? Try the Milky Way simulator or check the departure calendar: every date has its own page with the Moon, the times and any meteor shower at its peak.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best meteor shower of the year?
The Geminids, in mid-December: they are the richest (up to 150 meteors per hour in ideal conditions) and their radiant is high almost all night.
What time are meteor showers best seen?
Almost all are best after midnight and until just before dawn, when the point the meteors seem to come from (the radiant) is high. The Geminids can be seen from nightfall.
How many shooting stars will I actually see?
The published figure (the zenithal hourly rate) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. In practice you see between a half and a third of that, and far fewer if the Moon is up. That is why each year’s moon phase matters so much.
Do I need a telescope to see a meteor shower?
No. They are seen with the naked eye: lie down, let your eyes adjust to the dark for 20 or 30 minutes and look at a wide area of sky, not straight at the radiant. A telescope is for the Moon and the planets instead.
Which departures coincide with a meteor shower?
The ones on this page: each shower shows the scheduled departures whose night falls at its peak. If you would like to go on another date, we can quote you a private trip on WhatsApp.
Come and see them in the desert
We will tell you which date suits you, depending on what you want to see.
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