The Alpha Centaurids are a minor meteor shower visible every year in early February whose parent body is still unknown. The shower favors observers in the Southern Hemisphere.
Alpha Centaurid meteor shower in 2026
Activity period: The Alpha Centaurid meteor shower will be active from February 3 to 20 and will peak on the night of February 8-9, 2026.
When to see: As seen from mid-southern latitudes, the Alpha Centaurid radiant—the point from which the meteors appear to radiate—lies low in the southeast around 9:00 p.m. local time and reaches its highest point in the southern sky in the early morning. So the shower will be best visible during the pre-dawn hours on February 9, 2026, when the radiant climbs high in the sky.
Expected meteors during peak activity: The Alpha Centaurids are a modest shower, producing around 6 meteors per hour during peak activity under ideal conditions.
Moon phase during peak activity: In 2026, during the peak night, a waning gibbous moon will rise about an hour before midnight and remain visible for the rest of the night. As a result, moonlight will interfere with the Alpha Centaurids this year. Try to observe the shower from a location in the moon’s shadow.
Where to look: Alpha Centaurid meteors radiate from near the bright star Alpha Centauri in the constellation Centaurus. However, you don’t need to identify Alpha Centauri or Centaurus in order to observe the shower.
The Alpha Centaurid meteor shower will be visible across the sky during the pre-dawn hours, when the radiant climbs high in the sky.
View from the Northern Hemisphere: As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the Alpha Centaurid radiant lies below the horizon for most of the night and climbs low above the southern horizon in the pre-dawn hours. From there, you may spot only Alpha Centaurid Earth-grazers.
Meteor velocity: Alpha Centaurid meteors appear to move swiftly across the sky, entering Earth’s atmosphere at about 59 km/s.
Meteor outburst: The shower can produce rare outbursts of strong activity, such as were witnessed in 1980 from Australia. There may have been other outbursts, but the lack of southern observers hampers our knowledge of this shower.
References
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