Southern Taurid meteor shower 2027

When the Southern Taurids peak in 2027

In 2027 the Southern Taurids peak at 2027-10-10 22:18 UTC, when the Sun reaches solar longitude 197° (J2000). That makes the night of Oct 10–11 the one to watch; the activity window opens September 10, 350 days from now.

The Moon will be 80% illuminated (waxing gibbous) at the peak: bright Moon, fewer faint meteors. In 2028 the peak falls on Oct 10, 2028 with the Moon 64% lit, a better year.

From 45° N the radiant stands 38° high at 10 pm and 36° at 4 am local time, so the evening is as good as or better than pre-dawn. With the radiant at 38°, a ZHR of 5 means roughly 3 meteors per hour under a perfectly dark sky; light pollution and moonlight cut that a lot. The radiant is close to the celestial equator, so it rises everywhere except near the poles.

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.

How to watch the Southern Taurids

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 2h 08m, Dec +9°). No telescope or binoculars needed.

Southern Taurid meteors enter the atmosphere at 27 km/s, slowly, so they look like lazy streaks and include a higher share of bright fireballs. A long, low-rate shower known for slow, bright fireballs, especially in "swarm" years when Earth passes through a denser part of the Taurid stream (expected in 2032 and 2036).

Southern Taurids peak dates

Peak times come from the mean solar longitude of maximum; real peaks can shift by several hours, and unexpected outbursts happen.

Next meteor showers

• Northern Taurids (Nov 12)
• Leonids (Nov 17)
• Geminids (Dec 14)
• Ursids (Dec 22)
• Quadrantids (Jan 4)

More sky pages

• Meteor showers 2027 calendar
• Aurora forecast