Astrology

Winter and autumn 2026 skies bring Geminid meteors, planet oppositions and a supermoon

Skywatchers have a packed run of events from late September into December 2026, Stuff reports, starting with autumn's planetary oppositions and closing with the Geminid meteor shower and a Christmas Eve supermoon.

Published

Geminids peak on December 14 this year#

The Geminid meteor shower is active through December and usually peaks around December 4 to 16, with the morning of December 14 marked as the date of highest intensity, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also puts current rates at 120 to 160 meteors per hour under the best viewing conditions, while Stuff separately reports up to 120 meteors visible at the peak from a dark location.

Unlike most meteor showers, which come from comets, the Geminids trace back to an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon, and Wikipedia notes this makes the Geminids and the Quadrantids the only major showers not originating from a comet. Stuff adds that scientists remain unsure whether Phaethon is truly an asteroid or could be a rock comet. Stuff also describes the Geminids as unusually slow and multi-colored, producing white, yellow, green, red and blue trails from traces of metals such as calcium and sodium.

Saturn, Neptune and Uranus reach opposition this fall#

Saturn will be at opposition on October 4 at 12:00 UTC, shining at an apparent magnitude of +0.3 and visible to the naked eye, though a telescope with an aperture of 100 to 125 mm or more is needed to see its rings and largest moons, UA.NEWS reports, citing Live Science. Neptune reaches opposition on September 26 at 02:00 UTC with a magnitude of +7.8, requiring a telescope of at least 150 mm aperture, while Uranus follows on November 25 at 23:00 UTC, UA.NEWS says.

The Orionid meteor shower, created when Earth passes through debris left by Halley's comet, is active from early October into November and peaks around October 21, Yahoo and Business Today both report. The Draconids run October 6 to 10 with a peak on the night of October 8 to 9, producing about 6 to 10 meteors per hour under ideal conditions, according to UA.NEWS, which attributes the shower to debris from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.

A supermoon and a four-planet lineup close out autumn#

On November 24 the full Beaver Moon will occur, marking the first supermoon of the autumn-winter season and appearing about 15% brighter than an ordinary full moon, according to UA.NEWS, citing Live Science. Around November 14, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will all sit above the horizon before sunrise, though Mercury may be hard to spot low in the sky near the sun's glare while Venus and Jupiter should be easier to identify, Business Today reports.

The Leonid meteor shower will peak around November 17, with its meteors traveling at about 70 km per second, among the fastest visible from Earth, Business Today reports. Stuff notes that a supermoon is also expected on Christmas Eve as winter's sky events continue.

Discover more