I have a list of over 45 showers that occur each year, but only a few of these achieve a good number of meteors per hour. Here are the main ones:
MAJOR METEOR SHOWERS
Shower | Peak Date | Date Range | No. per Hour | Associated Comet |
| Quadrantids | Jan 3rd | Jan 1st to 6th | 80 | -- |
| Lyrids | Apr 22nd | Apr 19th to 25th | 10 | Thatcher 1861 I |
| Aquarids | May 6th | May 1st to 10th | 35 | Halley |
| Perseids | Aug 12th | Jul 23rd to Aug 25th | 75 | Swift-Tuttle |
| Orionids | Oct 22nd | Oct 16th to 27th | 25 | Halley |
| Taurids | Nov 5th | Oct 20th to Nov 30th | 10 | Encke |
| Leonids | Nov 17th | Nov 15th to 20th | var. | Temple-Tuttle |
| Geminids | Dec 13th | Dec 7th to 15th | 75 | -- |
| Ursids | Dec 23rd | Dec 17th to 25th | 10 | Tuttle |
TABLE NOTES:
Peak Date is when you can expect to see the maximum number of meteors per hour from the shower.
Date Range shows the length of time, usually from a few days up to a few weeks, when you can see meteors from the shower.
No. per Hour indicate the number of meteors you can expect to see each hour providing you can see the entire sky with no trees or houses in the way.
Associated Comet is the name of the comet that produces the shower (if known).
Of those not listed I mention the following, with their peak dates, only because of their great names: Omicron Draconids (10th Oct), Giacobinids (Oct 8th), Puppids-Velids (Dec 9th & 26th) and the Omega Equulids (Feb 6th).
Of those that are listed, one of the finest displays of the year is the August Perseids. You are always guaranteed a good number of meteors - in this case around seventy-five per hour. So if it's clear on the night of the 11th / morning of the 12th August fill a flask with tea, plant a deck chair in the garden, and watch the skies. The Geminids give a good display as well, but December is not as warm for sitting outside - Brrrr!
What are Shooting Stars?
