Astro-Observer

Meteor showers

Andromedid Meteor Shower

By Astro-Observer · Last reviewed November 8, 2026

Active
November 12 – December 10
Peak
Around December 6
Peak rate (ZHR)
5 (or more; uncertain)
Radiant
Andromeda (1h 40m, +51°)
Speed
18 km/s (slow)
Parent comet
3D/Biela
Best seen from
Northern Hemisphere
Best time
Evening and the first half of the night

Next peaks

Expected peak (UTC)Moon at peakMoonlight
December 6, 2026, around 12h Waning crescent, 6% lit Little or none
December 6, 2027, around 18h Possibly stronger Waxing gibbous, 55% lit Some

Computed from the shower's peak solar longitude (λ☉ 254°). Real peaks can come a few hours early or late, and you will see meteors on the nights either side. The peak hour may be in daylight where you are; watch the darkest hours of the nearest night.

The Andromedids are the remains of a comet that fell apart. In the nineteenth century they produced two of the greatest meteor storms on record; today they are weak, slow meteors from a radiant high in the northern evening sky.

Where the meteors come from

The parent is Comet 3D/Biela, a Jupiter-family comet with a period of about 6.7 years. Wilhelm von Biela showed in 1826 that it is periodic. At its 1845 return it split in two; by 1852 the pieces were farther apart, and neither has been seen with certainty since. Its dust hits the air at only about 18 km/s.

When to watch

IMO gives an uncertain activity period from November 12 to December 10, with the peak around December 6 (see the table above). Weak activity seems to be annual. The radiant is high in the evening and never sets from about 40°N, so watch from dusk until midnight.

How to find the radiant

The peak radiant sits on the border of Andromeda and Perseus, close to the faint star Phi Persei, just inside Perseus. It drifts far north during the activity, from near Mirach in mid-November toward Cassiopeia in December. To find it, draw a line from Almach (Gamma Andromedae) to Ruchbah (Delta Cassiopeiae): the radiant is about halfway along. Face north-east at dusk; by 9 p.m. it is nearly overhead.

What to expect

Expect one to three an hour from a dark site in most years; the ZHR of 5 is uncertain. They are very slow meteors, and IMO's provisional population index of 3.0 suggests mostly faint ones.

Viewing tips

  • Watch in the evening, when the radiant is high.
  • Judge each meteor's speed: Andromedids crawl.
  • Check several evenings: recent activity came on different dates.
  • Report meteors that fit the radiant and slow speed to the IMO as Andromedids.

History and notable displays

On November 27, 1872, and again on November 27, 1885, the Andromedids produced great storms. The British Astronomical Association puts the peak ZHR above 5,000, with more than 1,000 meteors an hour for about four hours each time. In December 2011 the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar recorded an outburst with a ZHR of about 50, the strongest in over a century, which Paul Wiegert and colleagues traced to dust Biela released in 1649. IMO notes further activity in 2018 and 2021.

About the numbers. The ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) is how many meteors one observer would see in an hour under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. Real counts are almost always lower: under suburban skies, or with the radiant low, expect a half to a quarter of it, or less.

Sources

Checked November 8, 2026.