Geminid meteor shower 2026 (14–15 Dec): the year’s best, when to watch, dark skies?
The Geminids are the best meteor shower of the year, peaking on the night of 14–15 December 2026 according to Thailand’s NARIT, at up to about 150 meteors an hour under a perfectly dark sky (an ideal maximum; you will usually see fewer). This year is lucky: New Moon is on 9 December, so on the 14th there is only a thin crescent, about 25% lit, setting around 22:14. The sky is dark almost all night, and December is the clearer season.
The best time to watch
The meteors seem to spread from the constellation Gemini, which rises in the east in the early evening and stands nearly overhead around 2 a.m. You can see Geminids from about 8 p.m., and it keeps improving through 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. when the sky is darkest and Gemini is high.
| Night | Moon lit | Moonset | Height of the radiant above the horizon (Bangkok) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14→15 Dec | 25% | 22:14 | 20:00 → 4° • 22:00 → 30° • 00:00 → 54° • 02:00 → 71° • 04:00 → 59° |
| 15→16 Dec | 34% | 23:01 | 20:00 → 5° • 22:00 → 30° • 00:00 → 55° • 02:00 → 71° • 04:00 → 59° |
How to watch
- Go somewhere dark and open, away from city lights. Lie back and take in a wide piece of sky; no equipment needed. Meteors can appear anywhere, so do not stare at the radiant.
- Give your eyes 20–30 minutes to adapt. Dress warmly and bring a mat; it gets colder than you expect, especially on high ground.
- Check cloud, rain and PM2.5 smoke before you go with “Tonight’s sky” in the app (smoke haze often hangs over northern Thailand at this time of year and hides stars). A 16-day forecast covers this night from about 28 November.
- Photos: tripod, wide-angle lens, ISO 1600–3200, widest aperture, 10–20 s exposures, hundreds of frames.
Quick answers
What night are the Geminids? The night of 14–15 Dec 2026. Do I need a telescope? No; the naked eye is best. Does the Moon interfere? Very little: the thin crescent sets around 22:14 on the 14th and 23:01 on the 15th (Bangkok).