June Boötid Meteor Shower

By Astro-Observer · Last reviewed November 8, 2026

Active

June 22 – July 2

Peak

Around June 21–22

Peak rate (ZHR)

Variable (usually near zero; 100+ in outburst years)

Radiant

Boötes (14h 44m, +48°)

Speed

18 km/s (slow)

Parent comet

7P/Pons-Winnecke

Best seen from

Northern Hemisphere

Best time

Evening and the first half of the night, while the radiant is high

Next peaks

Expected peak (UTC)	Moon at peak	Moonlight
June 22, 2027, around 7h	Waning gibbous, 91% lit	Bright Moon
June 21, 2028, around 13h	New Moon, 2% lit	Little or none

The date shown is the weak yearly maximum seen by video cameras. Past outbursts came a few days later, between June 23 and 28, from a slightly different radiant, so keep watching to the end of June.

Computed from the shower's peak solar longitude (λ☉ 90.3°). 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 June Boötids are a shower to keep half an eye on. Most years bring almost nothing, but now and then Earth meets a dense strand of old dust from Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, and slow, often bright meteors pour out of northern Boötes.

Where the meteors come from

Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke orbits the Sun about every 6.3 years. Its present orbit passes about 0.23 astronomical units outside Earth's, too far to give a shower. The outbursts came from dust shed long ago, when the comet's orbit was different. The grains arrive at only 18 km/s, among the slowest of any shower.

When to watch

Activity runs from June 22 to July 2, with a weak yearly maximum around June 21–22; the table above gives the time and the Moon. Unusually, the evening is best: the radiant is nearly overhead at nightfall and sinks into the northwest by dawn.

How to find the radiant

Find Arcturus, the bright orange star high in the southwest after dark, and follow the kite shape of Boötes up to its top star, Nekkar. The radiant is about 8 degrees farther north, some 10 degrees east of the end of the Big Dipper's handle. From about 40°N it climbs over 80 degrees; from southern mid-latitudes it barely rises.

What to expect

In a normal year the ZHR is close to zero. Past outbursts reached ZHRs of about 20 to about 250, and with the radiant high you would see much of that. The meteors are very slow, and the population index of 2.2 means many are bright.

Viewing tips

Watch in the evening, looking overhead or toward the west.
Go out on several nights until the end of June, even briefly.
North of about 50°N, expect twilight for most of the night.
If several slow meteors arrive from Boötes within minutes, note the times and tell the IMO.

History and notable displays

W. F. Denning saw an outburst on June 28, 1916, and linked it to the comet; probable returns followed in 1921 and 1927. On June 27, 1998, an unexpected outburst reached a ZHR of about 250. Sergey Shanov and Sergey Dubrovsky predicted the 2004 return, which came on June 23 with a ZHR of about 18. Since then, video networks have recorded only weak activity.

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.