Phoenicid Meteor Shower

By Astro-Observer · Last reviewed November 8, 2026

Active

December 1 – December 5

Peak

Around December 1–2

Peak rate (ZHR)

Variable (about 100 in 1956)

Radiant

Sculptor (0h 32m, −27°)

Speed

15 km/s (slow)

Parent comet

289P/Blanpain

Best seen from

Southern Hemisphere

Best time

Evening, from dusk until around midnight

Next peaks

Expected peak (UTC)	Moon at peak	Moonlight
December 2, 2026, around 1h	Waning crescent, 41% lit	Some
December 2, 2027, around 7h	Waxing crescent, 16% lit	Little or none

The timing and radiant have shifted between returns, so the IMO suggests checking for meteors from about ten days before the peak date.

Computed from the shower's peak solar longitude (λ☉ 249.5°). 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 Phoenicids are a shower you watch for the chance, not the numbers: most years bring no clear activity, but they have surprised observers before. If anything appears, the meteors are among the slowest you will ever see.

Where the meteors come from

The parent is Comet 289P/Blanpain. Discovered by J.-J. Blanpain in 1819, it was soon lost for nearly two centuries. In 2003 the Catalina Sky Survey found a faint near-Earth object, 2003 WY25, which is probably the same comet. It orbits the Sun in about 5.3 years, and Jupiter's pull keeps shifting its orbit and dust trails, so encounters are hard to predict. The grains arrive at only about 15 km/s.

When to watch

Activity is listed for December 1 to 5, peaking around December 2 (see the table above). Calculated encounter dates have varied, so the IMO suggests watching from about ten days earlier. The radiant is highest in the early evening.

How to find the radiant

The current radiant lies in faint Sculptor, about 9° (roughly a fist at arm's length) south-southwest of Diphda (Beta Ceti), a lone bright star. From the Southern Hemisphere it passes high overhead in the evening. From about 40°N it climbs only about 23° above the southern horizon and sets around midnight. The original radiant was much farther south, in Phoenix, which gave the shower its name.

What to expect

In a normal year, expect nothing you can be sure of. If Earth meets a dust trail, the meteors will drift slowly across the sky. A population index of about 2.8 (still uncertain) suggests more faint meteors than bright ones. From the north, the low radiant cuts any display to a fraction.

Viewing tips

Watch from dusk, when the radiant is highest.
Northern observers need a low, open southern horizon.
Look for very slow meteors: a Phoenicid crawls.
Note where any Phoenicids come from, not just how many.

History and notable displays

The shower was discovered on December 5, 1956, when a sudden outburst was seen in the Southern Hemisphere. By the IMO's estimate the ZHR probably reached about 100, and the strongest activity was seen from the Japanese expedition ship Soya in the Indian Ocean. No clear activity followed until December 1, 2014, when meteors arrived at the time predicted by Sato and Watanabe. Encounters calculated for 2024 produced no significant 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.