Meteor shower 2027
Alpha Capricornid meteor shower 2027
Updated
Next Alpha Capricornid peak: night of Jul 30–31, 2027 (ZHR 5) Active Jul 3 – Aug 15; Moon 10% lit at peak (dark skies, excellent).
When the Alpha Capricornids peak in 2027, how many meteors to expect, how bright the Moon will be, and where to look, computed from the International Meteor Organization's shower parameters.
- Peak
- Jul 30, 2027 2027-07-30 18:30 UTC, solar longitude 127°
- ZHR at peak
- 5 meteors per hour, ideal sky, radiant overhead
- Moon at peak
- 10% lit Waning crescent, dark skies, excellent
- Radiant
- RA 20h 28m, Dec −10° CAP
- Speed
- 23 km/s slow
- Best from
- Southern Hemisphere
- Parent body
- comet 169P/NEAT
When the Alpha Capricornids peak in 2027
In 2027 the Alpha Capricornids peak at 2027-07-30 18:30 UTC, when the Sun reaches solar longitude 127° (J2000). That makes the night of Jul 30–31 the one to watch; the activity window opens July 3, 278 days from now.
The Moon will be 10% illuminated (waning crescent) at the peak: dark skies, excellent. In 2028 the peak falls on Jul 30, 2028 with the Moon 64% lit, a worse year for moonlight.
From 45° N the radiant stands 29° high at 10 pm and 13° at 4 am local time, so the evening is as good as or better than pre-dawn. With the radiant at 29°, a ZHR of 5 means roughly 2 meteors per hour under a perfectly dark sky; light pollution and moonlight cut that a lot. The radiant never rises north of about 80° N.
How high the radiant gets
Radiant altitude on the peak night at 10 pm and 4 am local time. The higher the radiant, the more meteors you see.
| Latitude | 10 pm | 4 am |
|---|---|---|
| 50° N (London, Calgary) | 25° | 10° |
| 35° N (Los Angeles, Tokyo) | 37° | 17° |
| Equator | 59° | 29° |
| 35° S (Sydney, Buenos Aires) | 53° | 30° |
How to watch the Alpha Capricornids
Get away from street lights, let your eyes adapt for 20–30 minutes, and look about 40–60° away from the radiant rather than straight at it; meteors appear all over the sky and their trails point back to the radiant (RA 20h 28m, Dec −10°). No telescope or binoculars needed.
Alpha Capricornid meteors enter the atmosphere at 23 km/s, slowly, so they look like lazy streaks and include a higher share of bright fireballs. Low in number but known for slow, bright meteors and occasional fireballs. Their low speed (23 km/s) makes them easy to tell apart from the fast Perseids active at the same time.
Alpha Capricornids peak dates
| Year | Peak (UTC) | Best night | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 2027-07-30 18:30 UTC | Jul 30–31 | 10% lit |
| 2028 | 2028-07-30 00:37 UTC | Jul 29–30 | 64% lit |
| 2029 | 2029-07-30 06:46 UTC | Jul 29–30 | 79% lit |
Peak times come from the mean solar longitude of maximum; real peaks can shift by several hours, and unexpected outbursts happen.
Next meteor showers
More sky pages
Data: International Meteor Organization (working list), GodsView computed Moon and radiant positions.