Oslo, Norway
No major shower is active — the next one, the Orionids, peaks in 55 days.
Meteor showers tonight from Oslo, Norway
Sporadic meteors always deliver 5–10 per hour under a dark sky. The next major shower to plan around is the Orionids on Oct 21.
- Featured
- Orionids
- Peaks in
- 55 d
- ZHR
- 20
- Moon
- 100%
Meteor shower tonight · Oslo, Norway
No major meteor shower peaks tonight
No shower is near peak, so tonight is sporadic meteors only — roughly a handful an hour under a dark sky. Tonight is 55 days before the Orionids peak.
- Best window
- No usable window tonight
- Effective rate (weather-adjusted)
- Sporadic only (≈5/hr)
- Clear-sky rate
- —
- Where to look
- Northeast · radiant 2° high
- Cloud cover
- 62% during best meteor window
- Moon interference
- High · 100% lit
VerdictSkip tonight
Is there a meteor shower tonight?
No major shower is active from Oslo, Norway tonight. You'll still catch 5–10 sporadic meteors per hour under a dark, moonless sky. The next major shower is the Orionids, peaking in 55 days on Oct 21.
What time is the meteor shower tonight?
Meteor showers don't start at a clock time — they intensify as the shower's radiant climbs. From most northern-hemisphere locations that means the best hours run from local midnight to about an hour before dawn, when Earth is rotating into its orbital motion and sweeping up more debris. Even on a "no shower" night, the same window — midnight to dawn — will roughly double what you'd see in the early evening.
Where should I look?
Not at the radiant itself. Meteors appear to fly outward from the radiant but are longest and brightest 30–60° away from it. Lie flat, aim your gaze near the zenith (straight up), and let peripheral vision do the work. If a bright Moon is up, face away from it so it doesn't wash out your dark adaptation.
Best place near me to see the meteor shower
Once the sky is clear, light pollution is one of the biggest factors in how many meteors you see. Moving from a heavily light-polluted city sky to a darker rural site can make a large number of otherwise invisible faint meteors show up. How far you have to travel varies enormously from place to place, so find the nearest genuinely darker area rather than assuming a fixed drive time. Use lightpollutionmap.info to find the nearest dark patch, prioritise a wide horizon and no direct floodlights, and avoid any spot where you can see the glow of a nearby town on the horizon.
Are we in a meteor shower right now?
No major shower is currently active. Between showers, sporadic meteors — debris not tied to any specific parent body — still deliver 5–10 per hour under a dark sky, more toward dawn.
Meteor shower or asteroid shower?
There's no such thing as an "asteroid shower." What you're looking for is a meteor shower — Earth crossing a stream of dust-sized debris left behind by a comet (or, for the Geminids, the near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon). The particles are the size of a grain of rice, hit the atmosphere at 30–70 km/s, and burn up 80–100 km overhead. Actual asteroids don't produce showers; they're tracked one at a time by observatories like NASA CNEOS.
Signature
Tonight at a glance
Live for Oslo, Norway · effective rate estimate combines ZHR, Moon phase and cloud cover.
Practical
How to watch a meteor shower
Meteor showers happen when Earth crosses debris left behind by a comet (or, in the case of the Geminids, an asteroid). The dust grains — most no bigger than a grain of rice — hit the atmosphere at 30–70 km/s and burn up 80–100 km overhead. What you see is the ionised air trail, not the grain itself.
The single biggest lever on how many meteors you see is sky darkness. A genuinely dark rural site can reveal substantially more faint meteors than a suburban backyard, because most shower meteors are fainter than the limiting magnitude of a light-polluted sky. The second lever is Moon phase: a full Moon can cut observed rates by more than half. The third is radiant altitude — showers deliver their advertised rate only when the radiant is high in your sky, which is why post-midnight is almost always better.
- Pick the darkest sky you can reach — a darker site can make substantially more faint meteors visible.
- Arrive at least 20 minutes before your best observing window so your eyes fully adapt to the dark.
- Lie flat on a reclining chair or ground mat so you can watch the whole sky without neck strain.
- Aim your gaze about 45° away from the radiant, roughly toward the zenith.
- Dress warmer than you think — you'll be still for a long time.
- Give it at least an hour before deciding whether it's worth it.
Sporadic meteors — background debris not associated with any shower — add roughly 5–10 meteors per hour on any given night, more toward dawn. Even on a "no shower" night, an hour under a dark sky is rarely empty. Cross-check the Moon page for tonight's illumination, and the Milky Way page for a sense of how dark your sky can get.
Annual calendar
The seven major showers of the year
In date order, with peak, ZHR, parent body and radiant. Bookmark this table — it decides your calendar for the year.
| Shower | Peak | ZHR | Parent | Radiant | Best from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | 01-03 | 110 | Asteroid 2003 EH1 | Boötes (RA 15h 20m · Dec +49°) | Northern |
| Lyrids | 04-22 | 18 | Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher | Lyra (RA 18h 08m · Dec +32°) | Northern |
| Eta Aquariids | 05-06 | 50 | Comet 1P/Halley | Aquarius (RA 22h 24m · Dec −1°) | Southern tropics best |
| Perseids | 08-12 | 100 | Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle | Perseus (RA 03h 12m · Dec +58°) | Northern |
| Orionids | 10-21 | 20 | Comet 1P/Halley | Orion (RA 06h 20m · Dec +16°) | Both |
| Leonids | 11-17 | 15 | Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle | Leo (RA 10h 12m · Dec +22°) | Both |
| Geminids | 12-14 | 120 | Asteroid 3200 Phaethon | Gemini (RA 07h 28m · Dec +33°) | Both |
Peak-night Moon
Which showers land under a dark Moon this year
A shower's rated ZHR assumes a moonless sky. This table shows the Moon phase and illumination at each upcoming peak, plus the practical impact on how many meteors you'll actually see.
| Shower | Peak | Moon phase | Illumination | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | Jan 3 2027 | Waning Crescent | 20% | low |
| Lyrids | Apr 22 2027 | Full Moon | 99% | high |
| Eta Aquariids | May 6 2027 | New Moon | 0% | low |
| Perseids | Aug 12 2027 | Waxing Gibbous | 77% | high |
| Orionids | Oct 21 2026 | Waxing Gibbous | 72% | high |
| Leonids | Nov 17 2026 | First Quarter | 45% | moderate |
| Geminids | Dec 14 2026 | Waxing Crescent | 21% | low |
Next 7 nights
Best night for the Orionids
Ranked for Oslo, Norway across the coming week. Combines distance from peak, moon illumination and whether the moon is above the horizon around 01:00 local.
Best of the week: Thu, Aug 27 — 55d before peak · moon interferes.
| Night | Peak offset | Moon | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Aug 27 | -55d | 99% · up | Skip |
| Fri, Aug 28 | -54d | 100% · up | Skip |
| Sat, Aug 29 | -53d | 99% · up | Skip |
| Sun, Aug 30 | -52d | 96% · up | Skip |
| Mon, Aug 31 | -51d | 91% · up | Skip |
| Tue, Sep 1 | -50d | 84% · up | Skip |
| Wed, Sep 2 | -49d | 75% · up | Skip |
Cloud cover isn't included here — it's only reliable a few days out. Cross-check the Tonight page the day of.
Frequently asked questions
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Milky Way tonight
When the Milky Way core is above your horizon.
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Live pass times with direction and altitude for your location.