You can see a meteor shower every night until the end of the year

If you’re hoping to catch a shooting star, you have plenty of chances until the end of 2024.

Read more: NASA astronaut takes ‘crazy’ Aurora images from space

There are still plenty of meteor showers left between now and New Year’s, with at least one fireball event always happening. That means you have the chance to see a shooting star every evening. Because most meteor showers last for weeks, most of them overlap, giving you a higher chance on some days.

The list includes the Geminids and Quadrantids meteor showers. They are two of the largest such events of the year, with Geminids producing more than 150 meteors per hour and the Quadrantids producing up to 120. These showers occur during the colder months, but if you dress up and go outside you will rewarded for their efforts.

There are also several smaller meteor showers such as Kappa Cygnids and Alpha Aurigids, where the viewing won’t be as great, but they happen so consistently that you can see a meteor outside at any time.

There’s no shortage of spectacles to watch in the sky this year, from the appearance of the Aurora Borealis to the full solar eclipse and planet parades. August saw the Perseid meteor shower, an annual event for skygazers around the world.

Let’s go through all the meteor showers, both big and small, for the rest of 2024.

How to watch a meteor shower

Watching meteor showers takes some work. When astronomers calculate the number of meteors you see per hour, they generally do so under the assumption that you are far away from the big city with no visible moon. Because the moon is almost always at least partially full, this means you probably won’t see the maximum number of meteors per hour.

Go outside where the sky is as dark as possible. People who live in the big city might see a few during the bigger showers like Geminids and Quadrantids, but for the smaller showers, even people who live in the suburbs might not see any. Once you’re far away from the light pollution, all you have to do is look at the radiation source (or at the point where the meteor showers are coming from) and wait for the meteors to appear.

Orionids

When does it happen: Until November 22
Peak date: October 20-21
Maximum meteor speed: 10-20 meteors per hour

The Orionids are a long meteor shower and you can see meteors for almost two months at a time. Meteors from this shower come courtesy of the famous Halley’s Cometthe only known short-period comet in our solar system, appearing in the night sky about once every 72 to 80 years. Fun fact: Halley’s Comet is also responsible for the Eta Aquariid meteor shower that takes place every May.

To see Orionids, focus your attention on the southwestern sky near the constellation Orion, where you can see more than 20 meteors per hour. The show is supposed to last from sunset to sunrise.

Southern Taurids

When does it happen: Until December 8
Peak date: November 4-5
Maximum meteor speed: 5 meteors per hour

The Southern Taurids meteor shower is one of the longest lasting meteor showers of the year, lasting over two months. Meteors from this rain shower come from the Encke cometwhich was discovered more than 250 years ago. Compared to some other meteor showers, it peaks late in its cycle, so you’ll have to brave the November elements to see it. Keep your eyes on the southwestern sky near Taurus.

Northern Taurids

When does it happen: Until December 2
Peak date: November 11-12
Maximum meteor speed: 5 meteors per hour

The Northern Taurids is the second meteor shower to come from comet Encke, and is very similar to the Southern Taurids. In fact, both come from virtually the same place in the sky, so if you see a shooting star around the constellation Taurus, you probably can’t tell which meteor shower it came from. The Northern Taurids peak exactly a week later than the Southern Taurids in much the same part of the sky, so if you can find one meteor shower, you can easily find the other.

Leonids

When does it happen: November 3 – December 2
Peak date: November 17-18
Maximum meteor speed: 15 meteors per hour

Leonids come to us thanks to the comet Tempel-Tuttle and will last about a month. This is one of the stronger meteor showers left in 2024, although this one pales in comparison to the next. This one behaves a bit like Draconids, where it is quite tame most years but has a history of going extreme. In 2001, astronomers reported thousands of meteors per hour, and the chance of us experiencing another storm like this makes Leonids worth watching.

Leonids are also unique in that they are visible everywhere in the night sky. The shining star is the constellation Leo, which is not clearly visible for most of the night in the Northern Hemisphere. However, says NASA that it is better to look further away from Leo to see the best meteors. That means you’ll have to keep an eye on the northwestern sky to see the best Leonids meteors.

Geminids

When does it happen: Nov. 19-Dec. 24
Peak date: December 13-14
Maximum meteor speed: 150 meteors per hour

Geminids are one of the largest meteor showers of the year and occur after it gets cold outside. It is generated from the 3200 Phaethon asteroid, which is unique because its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than any other asteroid. Geminids are on average even more intense than the popular Perseid meteor shower, producing two to three times as many meteors.

The source of radiation for Geminids is Gemini, which is below the horizon for most of the night. Fortunately, as with Leonids, the Radiant is not the best place to look for Geminids, as it will be visible across the entire night sky during its peak.

Ursids

When does it happen: December 13 – December 24
Peak date: December 21-22
Maximum meteor speed: 10 meteors per hour

Ursids are unlucky enough to appear during the peak before Geminids and end on the same day, making it difficult to determine whether a meteor came from Geminids or Ursids. The only reason there is a distinction is because the radiation is different and Ursids is powered by comet 8P/Tuttle. Overall, it’s a smaller meteor shower that will be largely overshadowed by Geminids, but if you see a meteor in mid-December, it could be Ursid.

Finding Ursids is also quite easy. It radiates from the Ursa Minor, one of the best-known constellations in the night sky and part of the Ursa Major constellation. When Ursids reaches its peak, it is far up in the northern sky, making it quite easy to spot.

Quadrants

When does it happen: Dec 26-Jan. 16, 2025
Peak date: January 2-3
Maximum meteor speed: 120 meteors per hour

This meteor shower peaks after New Year’s, but will begin in 2024. It is also one of the most active meteor showers during its peak. Unfortunately, the peak is usually quite short, measured in hours rather than days. It is provided by the 2003 EH asteroid, which is classified by NASA as a near-Earth object because its orbit passes quite close to that of Earth. The Quadrantids are named after the constellation Quadrans Muralis was abandoned in 1922.

The best time to see him is the evening of January 2 and the morning of January 3. It can throw more than 100 meteors per hour, but that won’t last long. You have to look near the big dipper for this, so very close to the same spot as Ursids.