Comae Berenicid Meteor Shower

By Astro-Observer · Last reviewed November 8, 2026

Active

December 4 – January 30

Peak

Around December 22–23

Peak rate (ZHR)

3 (IMO gives 2–3)

Radiant

Leo Minor (10h 56m, +29°)

Speed

65 km/s (fast)

Best seen from

Northern Hemisphere

Best time

After midnight, best in the hours before dawn

Next peaks

Expected peak (UTC)	Moon at peak	Moonlight
December 23, 2026, around 5h	Full Moon, 99% lit	Bright Moon
December 23, 2027, around 11h	Waning crescent, 19% lit	Little or none

There is no sharp peak: December 23 is only a reference date. Activity is most noticeable from about December 17 to 29, and a few meteors can be seen until late January.

Computed from the shower's peak solar longitude (λ☉ 271°). 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 Comae Berenicids are a faint, long-running shower that trickles along from early December to the end of January. The International Meteor Organization (IMO) uses the name for a group of weak radiants just north of Leo that visual observers cannot tell apart. Rates are low, but the meteors are fast.

Where the meteors come from

No parent comet is known. The IAU Meteor Data Center lists several similar showers in this area, including the December Leonis Minorids. Whatever their source, the meteoroids strike the atmosphere at about 65 km/s, among the fastest of any shower.

When to watch

Meteors from this region appear from December 4 to the end of January. IMO uses December 23 as a reference date (see the table above for the Moon), and counts run slightly higher from about December 17 to 29. The radiant rises in the late evening and is highest just before dawn.

How to find the radiant

Despite the name, the radiant is not in Coma Berenices but in the faint constellation Leo Minor, between the back of Leo and the hind paws of the Great Bear. It lies roughly 10 degrees north of Zosma, the top star of the triangle at Leo's hindquarters, and about 5 degrees west-southwest of the close pair of stars that marks one of the Bear's feet. Face east after midnight; by dawn the radiant is high in the south.

What to expect

Expect one or two an hour from a dark site, even with the radiant high, and perhaps none from the suburbs. They are fast meteors, and the population index of 3.0 means most are faint, short streaks.

Viewing tips

Pick any clear, moonless morning between about December 17 and 29.
Watch from about 2 a.m. until dawn, when the radiant is high.
Combine it with the Ursids, which peak the same week.
Dress for some of the coldest mornings of the year.

History and notable displays

For many years IMO listed two showers here, the Comae Berenicids and the December Leonis Minorids. Because the data were inconsistent, and the IAU database holds more radiants with similar orbits (Jürgen Rendtel and Sirko Molau, 2022), IMO now counts all of this activity as Comae Berenicids. It is a minor shower mainly followed by experienced observers and video networks.

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.