By Alexander Merz · Updated on · Details checked on 7 October 2026
Every year, just before and after New Year’s Eve, the northern sky puts on a quiet fireworks show: the Quadrantids meteor shower. Though it rivals the Perseids and Geminids in intensity, this January shower flies under the radar because its peak is as dazzling as it is brief. Here’s how and when to catch the Quadrantids.
More in our overview: Shooting Stars.
⚡ The quick answer: The Quadrantids are active from about December 28 to January 12. The very short peak (just a few hours) falls on the night of January 3–4, with up to about 110 meteors per hour (ZHR). The next favorable maximum is the night of January 3–4, 2027, under good moon conditions. Best time to watch: after midnight, with the naked eye, under a dark sky.
The Quadrantids: January’s Meteor Shower
Of the 88 constellations officially recognized since 1922, many trace back to antiquity. Over the centuries, numerous star catalogs appeared, inventing constellations that are no longer in use today. The “Mural Quadrant” of the northern sky is probably the best known of these obsolete figures. Its coordinates now correspond to the radiant located in the constellation Boötes (the Herdsman). It’s from there that the Quadrantid meteor shower — more accurately called the Bootids — streaks toward Earth each year.
Starting December 28, the first meteors of the stream begin to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. But it’s the night of January 3–4 that truly impresses: until the early morning hours, the zenithal hourly rate can reach about 110 meteors per hour. If the weather cooperates, most become clearly visible a few hours after midnight, once the radiant climbs above the northern horizon.
When and Where to Watch the Quadrantids
Until around midnight, the radiant sits very low on the northern horizon and only gains altitude in the pre-dawn hours. That makes the window for “raining wishes” at maximum quite short. A trickle of stragglers keeps falling for about ten days after January 4, but the rate quickly drops to just a few meteors per hour. Your best bet is to aim squarely at peak night.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Activity period | December 28 – January 12 |
| Maximum | Night of January 3–4 (2027: 03:25 UTC) |
| Hourly rate (ZHR) | up to ~110 meteors/hr (IMO forecast for 2027: 80) |
| Radiant | Constellation Boötes |
| Best window | After midnight until dawn |
| Parent body | Asteroid 2003 EH1 |
| Moon in 2027 | barely interferes |
How to Watch a Meteor Shower
Meteors are best seen with the naked eye — you need no equipment to catch a shooting star crossing the sky in a fraction of a second. Get away from city lights, give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adapt to the dark, and lie back facing southeast to take in the widest possible stretch of sky.
To keep the night going once the peak has passed, a pair of binoculars is ideal: it reveals the clusters and faint deep-sky objects of the winter sky, around the radiant and beyond.
A telescope, on the other hand, does not help with meteors: it narrows your field of view and makes you miss them. If the astronomy bug bites anyway, our beginner buying guide explains without any sales pressure which instrument actually suits you.
For the waits between meteors: Omegon Brightsky 10x50 Binoculars
Bright, high-contrast binoculars: perfect for the Moon, star clusters and Milky Way fields, handheld.
Price: € 289
For finding your way: Oculum Swivelling Sky Map 29 cm
Set date and time, hold it up, find the constellations: the swivelling star chart shows exactly the sky above you at that moment. No battery, no signal, no screen glare.
Price: € 19.90
* Affiliate link: if you buy through this link we may earn a small commission from Astroshop or High Point Scientific, at no extra cost to you.
Where Do the Quadrantids Come From?
For a long time, astronomers couldn’t pin down which dust trail — from which comet — was crossing Earth’s orbit from the Boötes radiant. Comparing 5,000 years of records with cometary paths charted in the northern sky, they first “suspected” a short-period comet, nudged by Jupiter‘s influence onto a retrograde orbit around the Sun, with a perihelion that had drifted far outward.
Since 2003, asteroid 2003 EH1 has been regarded as the source object of the Quadrantids. According to Asian records, astronomers observed comet C/1490 Y1 in 1490–1491, now considered extinct. Asteroid 2003 EH1 may be a fragment of that former comet nucleus. If the hypothesis holds, the Quadrantid stream is, at 600 years old, remarkably young on a cosmic scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I see the Quadrantids in 2026 and 2027?
The maximum falls each year on the night of January 3–4. The next genuinely favorable peak is the night of January 3–4, 2027, under good moon conditions.
How many meteors per hour?
At maximum, the zenithal hourly rate reaches about 110 meteors per hour under an ideal sky, ranking the Quadrantids among the most intense showers of the year. You will see noticeably fewer: the radiant only climbs high before dawn, and the IMO forecast for 2027 is a ZHR of 80.
Do I need a telescope to see the Quadrantids?
No. Meteors are best observed with the naked eye across a wide field of sky. Binoculars and a telescope are better suited to exploring the winter sky between meteors.
Why are the Quadrantids also called the Bootids?
The radiant once lay in the now-abandoned “Mural Quadrant” constellation. Its coordinates now fall within the constellation Boötes, hence the more correct name Bootids.
Why is the Quadrantid peak so short?
Earth crosses a narrow dust trail oriented nearly perpendicular to its orbit. The maximum therefore lasts only a few hours, unlike other showers that spread across several nights.
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