YozoraAtlasyo·zo·ra (夜空) n. [Jap.] night sky

When is the best time to see the Quadrantids in 2027?

The Quadrantids peak at 03:25 UTC on January 4, 2027, the night of January 3 to 4, with the moon a 12% crescent that rises shortly before dawn. The peak lasts only about four hours, so where you live decides what you see. In Europe it falls in the dark early morning with the radiant about 48° up (London 03:25, Berlin 04:25, Helsinki 05:25), worth about 59 meteors an hour from a dark sky. In North America it comes in the evening of January 3, with the radiant at or below the horizon (New York 22:25, Denver 20:25): the radiant climbs high only before dawn on January 4, hours after the peak, when rates are far lower. From Australia and New Zealand the radiant barely rises.

Peak time and rates from the International Meteor Organization's 2027 calendar; the radiant, sun and moon are calculated for each of the 4,176 places on Yozora Atlas. Geometry, not a weather forecast. All 2027 showers: meteor showers 2027.

What time is the Quadrantid peak in your time zone?

Clock timePeakRadiant at the peakAt the peak, Bortle 3 skyRadiant highest in the dark
HST HonoluluJanuary 3, 17:25below the horizonradiant too low05:50, 44° (12.4 h after the peak)
AKST AnchorageJanuary 3, 18:2525°radiant too low07:20, 68° (12.9 h after the peak)
PST Los Angeles, San Diego, San JoseJanuary 3, 19:25below the horizonradiant too low05:40, 59° (10.2 h after the peak)
MST Phoenix, Denver, El PasoJanuary 3, 20:25below the horizonradiant too low06:00, 64° (9.6 h after the peak)
CST Chicago, Houston, San AntonioJanuary 3, 21:25below the horizonradiant too low06:00, 62° (8.6 h after the peak)
EST New York City, Toronto, BrooklynJanuary 3, 22:253°radiant too low05:50, 60° (7.4 h after the peak)
AST Halifax (Nova Scotia), Sydney (Nova Scotia), MonctonJanuary 3, 23:2511°15 an hour06:10, 64° (6.8 h after the peak)
NST St. John'sJanuary 3, 23:5517°23 an hour06:00, 65° (6.1 h after the peak)
GMT London (England), Birmingham (England), DublinJanuary 4, 03:2544°56 an hour06:10, 67° (2.8 h after the peak)
WET Lisbon, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, PortoJanuary 4, 03:2532°42 an hour06:20, 61° (2.9 h after the peak)
CET Berlin, Madrid, RomeJanuary 4, 04:2549°60 an hour06:10, 68° (1.8 h after the peak)
EET Riga, Athens (Attica), HelsinkiJanuary 4, 05:2559°69 an hour06:30, 68° (1.1 h after the peak)

Radiant heights are the middle value of the places in each time zone. "At the peak" is the ZHR of 80 times the sine of the radiant's height: what one observer under a Bortle 3 sky would count in the peak hour. The last column is the darkest-sky moment with the radiant highest, sun 18° or more below the horizon.

Most Quadrantids at the peak: dark skies with the radiant high

Most Quadrantids once the weather counts too

  1. Petkeljärvi National Park North Karelia · Bortle 3 · radiant 63° at 05:2571/h
  2. Patvinsuo National Park North Karelia · Bortle 3 · radiant 62° at 05:2571/h
  3. Koli National Park North Karelia · Bortle 3 · radiant 62° at 05:2571/h
  4. Hossa National Park North Ostrobothnia · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  5. Oulanka National Park North Ostrobothnia · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  6. Syöte National Park North Ostrobothnia · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  7. Rāzna National Park Latgale · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  8. Riisitunturi National Park Lapland · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  9. Istra Hills Nature Park Latgale · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  10. Hiidenportti National Park Kainuu · Bortle 3 · radiant 61° at 05:2570/h
  1. Ses Salines Natural Park Balearic Islands · Bortle 4 · radiant 38° at 04:2518/h
  2. Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park Andalusia · Bortle 4 · radiant 33° at 04:2518/h
  3. Etna Regional Park Sicily · Bortle 4 · radiant 46° at 04:2518/h
  4. Doñana National Park Andalusia · Bortle 4 · radiant 32° at 04:2517/h
  5. Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park Beja · Bortle 4 · radiant 31° at 03:2517/h
  6. Mondragó Natural Park Balearic Islands · Bortle 4 · radiant 39° at 04:2517/h
  7. Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park Epirus · Bortle 4 · radiant 51° at 05:2517/h
  8. Vikos-Aoös National Park Epirus · Bortle 4 · radiant 51° at 05:2517/h
  9. Sierra de Hornachuelos Natural Park Andalusia · Bortle 4 · radiant 33° at 04:2517/h
  10. Sierra Norte de Sevilla Natural Park Andalusia · Bortle 4 · radiant 33° at 04:2517/h

Left: meteors an hour at the peak for one observer under each place's own sky. Right: the same for places at Bortle 4 or darker, times the share of January nights that are clear there (NASA POWER cloud record 2014 to 2023): northern Europe has the radiant highest but clear January nights are rare (Helsinki averages 0.4, Berlin 0.7), so the south and the Canary Islands come out ahead.

Quadrantids 2027 in every town and park

Best time: the peak where it falls in the dark with the radiant 10° or more up, otherwise the moment the radiant is highest before dawn (with no meteor count, since the rate that far from the peak isn't known in advance). The nearest dark sky is the quickest drive to a Bortle 4 spot. The largest places first; search for any other.

PlaceBest timeRadiantMeteors an hour hereNearest dark sky, meteors an hour thereClear January nights
London England03:25 GMT44°13 Bortle 848 Picnic site near Wilton, 1 h 44 min2.1
New York City New York05:40 EST (7.2 h after the peak)61°· Bortle 8Burnt Mills Parking Area, 2 h 09 min5.2
Los Angeles California05:20 PST (9.9 h after the peak)54°· Bortle 8Fishbowls Trailhead, 2 h 18 min11.8
Berlin Berlin04:25 CET52°21 Bortle 754 Picnic site near Baumgarten, 1 h 08 min0.7
Madrid Madrid04:25 CET36°11 Bortle 841 Car park near El Quexigal, 1 h 24 min10.7
Toronto Ontario06:00 EST (7.6 h after the peak)62°· Bortle 8Campground near Kirkfield, 2 h 06 min0.2
Brooklyn New York05:40 EST (7.2 h after the peak)61°· Bortle 8Parking area near Fallsdale, 3 h 00 min1.4
Chicago Illinois05:30 CST (8.1 h after the peak)61°· Bortle 8Parking area near Clarks, 1 h 57 min3.1
Rome Lazio04:25 CET47°13 Bortle 850 Area picnic Cerreto, 1 h 22 min9.1
Queens New York05:40 EST (7.2 h after the peak)61°· Bortle 8Parking area near Fallsdale, 2 h 58 min1.4
Houston Texas05:50 CST (8.4 h after the peak)52°· Bortle 8Parking area near Sea Breeze, 1 h 33 min7.6
Paris Île-de-France04:25 CET44°13 Bortle 848 Car park near Grandchamp, 1 h 08 min1.9

Why is the Quadrantid peak so short?

Most meteor showers stay near their best for a day or more. The Quadrantids rise and fall within hours: the IMO quotes the maximum as about 4 hours wide, though radio counts in 2020 to 2022 showed it wider. The peak time itself is uncertain by about 2.5 hours, and the peak rate has varied from about 60 to 200 an hour between returns; 80 is the calendar's working value. For 2027 Vaubaillon notes that the stream sits slightly closer to the Sun, which could lift the rate. Outside the peak, the shower runs from December 28 to January 12 at much lower rates.

How the Quadrantid times are calculated

Peak time, ZHR (80), radiant (right ascension 230°, declination +49°) and population index (r = 2.1 at the maximum) are from the IMO 2027 Meteor Shower Calendar. Each place's clock time comes from the time zone of its nearest GeoNames town. Meteors an hour are the ZHR times the sine of the radiant's height, divided by r for every magnitude the sky falls short of 6.5, using the faintest stars of each Bortle class (Bortle 2001: magnitude 6.5 for classes 1 to 3, 6.3 for class 4, 5.8, 5.5, 5.0, 4.5 and 4.0 for classes 5 to 9). They assume a clear sky, one observer and an open view in every direction; most people count fewer. The 288 places in Australia and New Zealand are left out: the radiant stays below 10° there all night.

Sources

Checked as of October 25, 2026.