November 2026 Meteor Showers: Taurid Fireballs Under Dark Skies, Then the Leonids on Nov. 16-17

November 2026 brings three meteor shower peaks, and two of them land under nearly moonless skies. The Southern Taurids peak on the night of Nov. 4-5 and the Northern Taurids on Nov. 11-12, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). The Leonids follow on the night of Nov. 16-17. None will produce a storm, but the Taurids are famous for slow, bright fireballs, and the dark Moon this year gives them a good chance.

November 2026 meteor shower calendar

Shower	Peak night	Moon	Rate under dark skies
Southern Taurids	Wed.-Thu., Nov. 4-5	Waning crescent, about 18% lit	About 5 per hour
Northern Taurids	Wed.-Thu., Nov. 11-12	Thin crescent, about 7% lit	About 5 per hour
Leonids	Mon.-Tue., Nov. 16-17	First quarter, sets around midnight	Up to about 15 per hour

Peak dates and rates are from the AMS. Rates assume a dark rural sky; from a suburb, expect perhaps half as many.

The Taurids: few meteors, big fireballs

The two Taurid showers come from debris left by Comet 2P/Encke. They are active for weeks, from late September through early December, and overlap in early November. Their rates are modest, around five an hour, but the particles are relatively large and slow, which is why the Taurids produce more fireballs, meteors brighter than Venus, than most showers.

This year the timing is kind. The new moon falls at 2:02 a.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 9, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, so the Moon is a thin crescent for both Taurid peaks. The Taurids’ radiant, in the constellation Taurus, rises in the evening, so meteors appear all night, with the best hours around midnight when Taurus is high.

The Leonids: fast and after midnight

The Leonids come from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and are among the fastest meteors, hitting the atmosphere at about 44 miles per second. They are famous for historic storms in 1833, 1866, 1966, 1999, 2001 and 2002, but no storm is expected this year. The AMS says Earth will not cross a dense debris cloud for decades, even when the comet returns in 2031.

On the peak night, the first-quarter Moon (exactly first quarter at 6:48 a.m. EST on Nov. 17) sets around midnight. The Leonid radiant in Leo rises late in the evening, so the best window is from moonset until dawn.

How to watch

1. Get away from lights. A park or rural area makes more difference than any equipment.
2. Give your eyes 20 minutes. Avoid looking at your phone; red light preserves night vision.
3. Look up, not at the radiant. Meteors appear all over the sky; look about halfway up in the darkest direction.
4. Dress for November. Clear nights are cold. A reclining chair and a blanket help you stay out longer.

Clocks fall back on Nov. 1, so evening viewing starts an hour earlier on the clock than in October; see when daylight saving time ends.

More sky events

October’s Orionids peak Oct. 21-22; our Orionid guide has the details. The full Beaver Moon follows on Nov. 24 at 9:53 a.m. EST. For every full moon of next year, see our moon phases 2027 calendar. Mark the peak nights on a November 2026 printable calendar, or plan next year’s sky watching on a 2027 yearly calendar.