2013 Meteor Shower List

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The 2013 Meteor Shower List is presented in four separate parts. The showers are broken down by intensity with major, minor, variable, and weak showers being separated into their own groups. The general public and news agencies are encouraged to only use the list of major showers as they are the most well known and provide the most activity on a year to year basis. The other showers rarely surpass ten meteors per hour at maximum and are difficult to observe by the general public.


2013 Major Meteor Showers (Class I)

Shower Activity Period Maximum Radiant Velocity r Max. Time Moon
Date S. L. R.A. Dec. km/s ZHR
Quadrantids (QUA) Jan 01-Jan 10 Jan 03 283.16° 15:18 +49.5° 42.2 2.1 120 0500 20
Lyrids (LYR) Apr 18-Apr 25 Apr 22 032.32° 18:08 +32.9° 48.4 2.1 18 0400 12
Eta Aquarids (ETA) Apr 29-May 20 May 07 046.8° 22:36 -00.6° 67.5 2.4 60 0400 26
Delta Aquarids (SDA) Jul 21-Aug 23 Jul 30 126.9° 22:42 -16.4° 42.0 3.2 20 0300 22
Perseids (PER) Jul 13-Aug 26 Aug 12 140.0° 03:12 +57.6° 60.5 2.6 100 0400 06
Orionids (ORI) Aug 25-Nov 19 Oct 22 208.9° 06:24 +15.5° 67.1 2.5 20 0500 18
Leonids (LEO) Nov 06-Nov 30 Nov 18 236.1° 10:16 +21.6° 70.6 2.5 15 0500 15
Geminids (GEM) Dec 04-Dec 16 Dec 13 261°5 07:33 +32.2° 35.0 2.6 120 0100 11
Ursids (URS) Dec 17-Dec 24 Dec 22 270°7 14:30 +74.8° 32.6 3.0 10 0500 18

Information and Table Template Courtesy the International Meteor Organization.

The meteor showers listed above are the easiest to observe and provide the most activity. Particular attention should be noted to the time and moonlight conditions. All these showers are best seen after midnight. Some are not even visible until after midnight. Showers that peak with the moon’s age between 10 and 20 days will be affected by moonlight and difficult to observe this year. While the time each shower is best seen remains much the same year after year, the moonlight conditions change considerably from one year to the next. We will post upcoming details of each major shower that is free from moonlight well in advance of their peak activity.


2013 Minor Meteor Showers (Class II)

Shower Activity Period Maximum Radiant Velocity r Max. Time Moon
Date S. L. R.A. Dec. km/s ZHR
Antihelion Source (ANT) Dec 05-Sep 06 30.0 3.0 4 0100
Alpha Centaurids (ACE) Jan 28-Feb 21 Feb 08 319°2 14:00 -59.0° 56.0 2.0 6 0500 26
Eta Lyrids (ELY) May 07-May 14 May 10 050° 19:24 +43.2° 43.4 3.0 3 0400 18
Alpha Capricornids (CAP) Jul 16-Aug 10 Jul 30 127° 20:20 -10.2° 24.9 2.5 5 0100 22
Kappa Cygnids (KCG) Aug 06-Aug 31 Aug 18 145° 18:30 +58.0° 22.7 3.0 3 2300 12
Aurigids (AUR) Aug 29-Sep 04 Sep 01 158°6 06:02 +39.3° 66.7 2.6 6 0400 25
September Epsilon Perseids (SPE) Sep 01-Sep 28 Sep 09 167° 03:12 +40.5° 65.9 2.9 5 0500 04
Southern Taurids (STA) Sep 07-Nov 19 Oct 10 197° 02:06 +08.7° 28.9 2.3 5 0200 06
Epsilon Geminids (EGE) Sep 29-Nov 03 Oct 22 209° 06:58 +27.0° 70.4 3.0 3 0500 18
Leonis Minorids (LMI) Oct 19-Oct 28 Oct 22 209° 10:43 +37.0° 62.1 2.7 2 0500 18
Northern Taurids (NTA) Oct 26-Dec 05 Nov 11 229° 03:54 +22.5° 29.4 2.3 5 0000 08
November Orionids (NOO) Nov 13-Dec 21 Nov 29 247° 06:05 +15.2° 44.1 2.3 3 0400 26
Sigma Hydrids (HYD) Nov 26-Dec 21 Dec 06 254° 08:12 +02.8° 61.6 3.0 3 0300 04
Puppid/Velids (PUP) Dec 01-Dec 15 Dec 07 255° 08:12 -45.0° 40.0 2.9 10 0400 05
Monocerotids (MON) Nov 27-Dec 17 Dec 09 257° 06:40 +08.1° 40.9 3.0 2 0100 07
Coma Berenicids (COM) Dec 03-Jan 19 Dec 17 265° 10:37 +30.2° 64.3 3.0 5 0500 15

Information and Table Template Courtesy the International Meteor Organization.

The meteor showers listed above range from two to ten shower members per hour at maximum activity. These meteors can be detected by experienced observers but novice observers and the general public will have difficultly distinguishing these meteors from the major showers or sporadic (random) meteors.


2013 Variable Meteor Showers (Class III)

Shower Activity Period Maximum Radiant Velocity r Max. Time Moon
Date S. L. R.A. Dec. km/s ZHR
Pi Puppids (PPU) Apr 15-Apr 28 Apr 23 033.5° 07:20 -45.0° 18 2.0 var 1900 13
June Bootids (JBO) Jun 22- Jul 02 Jun 27 095.7° 14:56 +48° 18 2.2 var 2100 18
Draconids (GIA) Oct 06-Oct 10 Oct 09 196.0° 17:28 +56° 19 2.6 var 1800 05
Alpha Monocerotids (AMO) Nov 15-Nov 25 Nov 21 239°32 07:48 +01° 65 2.4 var 0300 18
Dec Phoenicids (PHO) Nov 28-Dec 09 Dec 06 254°25 01:12 -53° 18 2.8 var 2000 04

Information and Table Template Courtesy the International Meteor Organization.


The meteor showers listed above produce strong activity on rare occasions. Most of the time only a few scattered remnants of these showers are observed with rates of one shower member per night. Note that most of these showers are best seen during the evening hours, a situation quite opposite most meteor showers.


2013 Weak Meteor Showers (Class IV)

Shower Activity Period Maximum Radiant Velocity Max. Time Moon
Date S. L. R.A. Dec. km/s ZHR
January Leonids (JLE) Jan 01-Jan 05 Jan 01 281.0° 09:46 +24.4° 53.9 <2 0300 18
Canum Venaticids (CVN) Jan 11-Jan 17 Jan 11 291.0° 14:03 +28.0° 58.8 <2 0500 00
Theta Corona Borealids (TCB) Jan 14-Jan 16 Jan 16 296.0° 15:40 +50.5° 38.6 <2 0500 05
IMO #14 Jan 18-Jan 22 Jan 18 298.0° 13:14 -20.0° 69.9 <2 0500 07
January Xi Ursae Majorids (XUM) Jan 18-Jan 21 Jan 19 299.0° 11:17 +32.0° 45.7 <2 0300 08
Nu Bootids A  (NBO) Jan 17-Jan 20 Jan 19 299.0° 13:24 +14.0° 68.7 <2 0500 08
Nu Bootids B (NBO) Jan 19-Jan 25 Jan 19 299.0° 14:22 +10.5° 68.3 <2 0500 08
Gamma Ursae Minorids (GUM) Jan 18-Jan 23 Jan 20 300.0° 15:08 +68.0° 31.1 <2 0500 09
Lambda Bootids (LBO) Jan 17-Jan 23 Jan 21 301.0° 15:07 +42.0° 46.3 <2 0500 10
Jan. Comae Berenicids (JCO) Jan 20-Jan 27 Jan 23 303.0° 12:46 +15.0° 65.0 <2 0500 12
Alpha Coronae Borealids (ACB) Jan 27-Jan 31 Jan 28 308.0° 15:30 +26.5° 58.0 <2 0500 16
IMO #22 Jan 29-Feb 09 Feb 08 319.0° 13:42 +09.0° 65.0 <2 0500 26
Beta Herculids (BHE) Feb 13-Feb 19 Feb 13 324.0° 16:28 +24.0° 56.3 <2 0500 03
Delta Serpentids (DSE) Feb 16-Feb 16 Feb 16 327.0° 16:37 +08.5° 57.0 <2 0500 06
IMO #35 Feb 28-Mar 05 Mar 04 344.0° 16:39 +48.5° 39.9 <2 0500 21
IMO #37 Mar 05-Mar 10 Mar 05 345.0° 23:00 +41.5° 41.7 <2 1900 22
Xi Herculids (XHE) Mar 11-Mar 16 Mar 12 352.0° 17:11 +48.0° 36.6 <2 0500 01
Gamma Normids (GNO) Feb 25-Mar 22 Mar 13 353.0° 16:36 -51.0° 56.0 <2 0500 19
Northern March Virginids (NVI) Mar 14-Mar 22 Mar 14 354.0° 11:36 08.5° 22.4 <2 0100 03
Zeta Serpentids (ZSE) Mar 20-Mar 23 Mar 21 001.0° 17:34 01.5° 69.1 <2 0500 10
IMO #46 Mar 22-Mar 22 Mar 22 002.0° 12:06 00.0° 25.1 <2 0100 11
Zeta Cygnids (ZCY) Mar 22-Apr 10 Apr 06 016.0° 19:53 +40.0° 42.9 <2 0400 24
Delta Aquiliids (DAL) Apr 05-Apr 13 Apr 11 021.0° 20:37 +11.0° 66.0 <2 0400 01
Sigma Leonids A (SLE) Apr 08-Apr 16 Apr 11 021.0° 13:12 +04.5° 22.4 <2 0100 01
IMO #59 Apr 13-Apr 19 Apr 16 026.0° 19:27 +37.0° 44.5 <2 0400 06
Nu Cygnids (NCY) Apr 02-May 04 Apr 18 028.5° 20:42 +43.2° 43.8 <2 0400 08
Sigma Leonids B (SLE) Apr 18-Apr 26 Apr 20 030.0° 13:34 +03.5° 20.4 <2 0100 10
IMO #66 Apr 25-Apr 27 Apr 27 037.0° 21:11 -04.0° 64.6 <2 0100 17
Alpha Bootids (ABO) Apr 27-Apr 27 Apr 27 037.0° 13:50 +18.2° 71.0 <2 0100 17
IMO #79 May 25-May 29 May 26 065.0° 23:29 +06.5° 68.5 <2 0400 14
Daytime Arietids (ARI) Jun 05-Jun 09 Jun 07 077.0° 02:10 +23.5° 43.0 <2 0400 28
Sigma Capricornids (SCA) Jun 19-Jul 24 Jun 27 096.0° 20:25 -07.0° 41.7 <2 0400 18
IMO #95 Jun 27-Jul 07 Jun 29 098.0° 16:50 +55.5° 22.6 <2 0000 21
Pi Piscids (PPS) Jun 10-Jul 25 Jul 01 100.0° 00:55 +25.0° 68.6 <2 0400 22
IMO #94 Jun 29-Jul 04 Jul 03 102.0° 23:42 +29.0° 68.1 <2 0400 25
July Pegasids (JPE) Jul 05-Jul 25 Jul 10 108.0° 23:12 +11.0° 68.1 <2 0400 02
c-Andromedids (CAN) Jun 26-Jul 20 Jul 12 110.0° 02:10 +47.5° 60.1 <2 0400 04
Alpha Triangulids (ATR) Jul 25-Aug 20 Jul 27 124.0° 02:07 +41.0° 67.9 <2 0400 19
July Gamma Draconids (GDR) Jul 25-Jul 29 Jul 28 125.0° 18:42 +50.5° 26.5 <2 0000 20
Eta Eridanids (ERI) Jul 31-Aug 17 Aug 04 132.0° 02:53 -13.0° 66.2 <2 0400 27
IMO #125 Aug 07-Aug 09 Aug 08 135.0° 00:15 +49.0° 55.5 <2 0400 02
Theta Piscids (TPI) Aug 08-Sep 01 Aug 20 147.0° 23:28 04.1° 40.6 <2 0400 14
IMO #139 Aug 23-Aug 27 Aug 24 151.0° 04:01 +41.0° 68.9 <2 0400 18
IMO #136 Aug 18-Aug 25 Aug 25 152.0° 02:20 +38.0° 45.5 <2 0400 19
IMO #141 Aug 26-Sep 03 Aug 29 155.0° 00:08 +76.0° 58.5 <2 0300 23
IMO #149 Aug 29-Sep 09 Sep 03 160.0° 04:47 +47.5° 69.7 <2 0400 28
September Lyncids (SLY) Sep 07-Sep 18 Sep 09 167.0° 06:22 +55.7° 59.7 <2 0500 04
Nu Eridanids (NUE) Sep 18-Sep 24 Sep 18 175.0° 04:56 03.5° 68.8 <2 0500 13
Beta Aurigids (BAU) Sep 21-Sep 25 Sep 23 180.0° 05:50 +49.0° 70.2 <2 0500 17
IMO #166 Sep 19-Sep 29 Sep 24 181.0° 17:52 +84.0° 37.8 <2 2000 18
Delta Aurigids (DAU) Sep 25-Sep 30 Sep 25 182.0° 02:27 +57.5° 63.0 <2 0500 19
Sep-Oct Lyncids (SOL) Sep 28-Sep 30 Sep 30 187.0° 07:26 +47.0° 67.0 <2 0500 24
October Camelopardalids (OCT) Oct 05-Oct 06 Oct 05 192.6° 11:12 +78.5° 44.0 <2 0500 01
October Ursa Majorids (OCU) Oct 15-Oct 19 Oct 15 202.0° 09:36 +64.5° 53.7 <2 0500 11
Psi Aurigids (ZTA) Oct 08-Oct 18 Oct 15 202.0° 07:19 +42.0° 67.9 <2 0500 11
Tau Cancrids (TCA) Oct 09-Oct 25 Oct 17 206.0° 08:57 +29.4° 68.7 <2 0500 13
Lambda Ursa Majorids (LUM) Oct 24-Nov 01 Oct 27 214.0° 10:24 +48.9° 61.5 <2 0500 23
Zeta Cancrids (ZCN) Nov 04-Nov 09 Nov 07 225.0° 07:22 13.5° 70.7 <2 0500 04
Andromedids (AND) Oct 26-Nov 20 Nov 08 230.0° 01:31 +29.4° 19.4 <2 2200 05
Nov. Iota Draconids (NID) Nov 22-Dec 01 Nov 26 232.0° 12:42 55.5° 44.4 <2 0500 23
Dec. Phi Cassiopeiids (DPC) Nov 26-Dec 05 Dec 01 249.0° 12:22 52.6° 17.8 <2 0500 28
December Kappa Draconids (KDR) Dec 02-Dec 06 Dec 03 251.0° 12:22 +70.5° 43.0 <2 0500 01
Psi Ursa Majorids (PSU) Dec 01-Dec 08 Dec 04 252.0° 11:10 +43.0° 62.2 <2 0500 02
Alpha Draconids (DAD) Dec 03-Dec 14 Dec 04 252.0° 13:34 +58.0° 43.6 <2 0500 02
IMO #239 Dec 16-Dec 24 Dec 18 266.0° 08:15 -10.5° 69.8 <2 0400 16
Dec. Sigma Virginids (DSV) Dec 17-Dec 28 Dec 26 274.0° 13:59 03.5° 68.9 <2 0500 22
Alpha Hydrids (AHY) Dec 30-Jan 08 Jan 01 280.0° 08:24 -07.9° 45.0 <2 0100 07

Information and Table Template Courtesy the International Meteor Organization.


The meteor showers listed above rarely produce an average of more than two shower members per hour. In some cases these showers have been recently discovered by video means, being too weak for visual observers to pick out from the sporadic background. This list is being provided for the experienced observer in order to follow the activity of these weak showers. Good luck with your observations in 2013!


Explanation of the 2012 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where
the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the shower is active and the observer can expect activity
from this source.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity.
Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment
of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and
270 at the winter solstice. Scientists use this time measurement as it is independent
of the calendar.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position
is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).
The radiant must be near or above the horizon in order to witness activity from a particular
shower.

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth’s atmosphere.
The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth.
Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere
head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This
velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors
in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the “r” value, the resulting
overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. “r” usually ranges from 2.0 (bright)
to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible
per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5 (a very dark sky).
Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and
the limiting magnitude is usually lower than +6.5. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed
rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Time: this is the time of night when meteors from each shower are best seen. Quite often
the radiant will culminate after sunrise therefore the last dark hour before dawn will be listed.
Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is used from March through October. These figures are also
highly dependent on the latitude of the observer. The time listed is most precise for mid-northern
latitudes.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full,
and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so
showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25
are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR’s normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR’s normally two to ten.

Class III: showers that do not provide annual activity. These showers are rarely active
yet have the potential to produce a major display on occasion.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR’s rarely exceeding two. The study of these
showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity
estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to
limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers
are also good targets for video and photographic work.


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7 comments

  • doug savory 12 years ago

    either we,ve made a leap in detection this year or we are driving thru an unexpected shot gun blast of sorts,is it just me?or are we seeing far ,far more meteors ,some massive,that iv ever even heard of in such a short time.Why is there silence on this topic about frecency and are we trying to figure out where they are coming from?

    Reply to doug
  • David 12 years ago

    So if the max date is Aug 12th are we talking that morning (12:01 AM on) or that night (10-11PM on)?

    Reply to David
  • RL 12 years ago

    Why don’t the dates of meteor showers change because of leap years?

    Reply to RL
    • amsadmin 12 years ago

      The dates of maximum activity do change when a leap year occurs. Every year a shower will reach maximum activity approximately 6 hours later than the previous year. This progression will usually push the date of maximum activity to the next night during the last two years prior to leap year. When leap year occurs the date will regress back 1 night or 24 hours starting the progression all over again. A good example are the Perseids which reach maximum activity on August 12 during 2012 and 2013. During 2014 and 2015 the Perseids will reach maximum on August 13. When leap year occurs again in 2016, the maximum night will revert back to August 12.

      I hope this helps!

      Robert Lunsford

      Reply to amsadmin
  • John Harris 12 years ago

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    Reply to John
  • Ezra Biondi 12 years ago

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    Reply to Ezra

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