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Major Permanent Meteor Streams
| Name | Date of Appearance | Associated with Comet | Description |
| Lyrids | April 12 to 2 Max. April 22 | Halley’s Comet | At one time a rich stream but now less strong |
| eta Aquarids | April 29 to May 21 Max. May5 | A rich stream, better visible in the southern hemisphere. | |
| delta Aquarids | June 25 to Aug 19 Max. July 30 | Second encounter with foregoing stream | |
| Perseids | July 20 to Aug 19 Max. Aug 11 | Tuttle’s Comet of 1862 | Once a strong stream, now becoming weaker. |
| Orionids | Oct 11 to 30 Max. Oct 19 | Halley’s Comet | A fairly active stream. |
| Taurids | Oct 24 to Dec 10 Max. Nov 13 | Temple’s Comet of 1866 | Once a stream with very high rate of shooting stars, now much less active. |
| Geminids | Dec 5 to 19 Max. Dec 12 |
You might notice that the Leonids, which have been talked about a lot over the last few years, aren't mentioned here. That's because they're not strictly speaking a permanent stream - although you can see some sign of them most years, around 17 November, they actually only reach their maximum (sometimes with thousands of shooting stars each hour...) every 33 years - their next peak isn't due until 2032!
AND DON'T FORGET... for more information about meteors and when to see them, and about astronomy in general, you can visit my meteor links page.
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