Which Meteor Showers Will Appear Over Estes Park in 2027?

Seven showers are covered for 2027 over Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: the Quadrantids, Lyrids, Eta Aquariids, Perseids, Orionids, Leonids, and Geminids. The Moon decides which ones reward an early morning. No rate here is a promise, and no source guarantees clear skies on any date.

How should you read the rates?

Sources use two different rate ideas. ZHR is an ideal number with the radiant overhead, a dark sky, and no Moon. The American Meteor Society also gives observed rural rates, which are lower. Do not read a ZHR as a count you will see. Moon figures are Society figures where given, with computed figures where the instant matters.

Shower	Peak night	Moon	Rate expectation, attributed	When to look
Quadrantids	Jan 3 to 4	Waning crescent, AMS 18 percent, computed 12 percent at peak	AMS observed 25 per hour in dark skies, peak about 6 hours	Before dawn Jan 4, radiant near Big Dipper
Lyrids	Apr 21 to 22, EarthSky peak 01:11 UTC Apr 23	Full, AMS 100 percent, full Moon Apr 20	EarthSky 10 to 15 per hour with no Moon, reduced by moonlight	After midnight to dawn Apr 22 and 23, radiant near Vega in Lyra
Eta Aquariids	May 5 to 6	2 percent AMS, new Moon May 6	AMS 10 to 30 per hour just before dawn from the equator northward	Before dawn May 5, also May 4 and 6, radiant low in the south
Perseids	Aug 12 to 13	Waxing gibbous, AMS 79 percent, computed 79 to 87 percent	AMS 30 to 50 per hour from rural sites at maximum	Late night to dawn after Moonset, radiant in Perseus
Orionids	Oct 22 to 23 peak window, see below	Waning gibbous, computed 58 percent to 41 percent at the cited instants	EarthSky at best 10 to 20 per hour with no Moon, IMO ZHR 20	After midnight to dawn, radiant from the club of Orion near Betelgeuse
Leonids	Nov 17 to 18, IMO maximum Nov 18, see below	Bright waning gibbous, computed about 80 percent at peak	IMO ZHR about 15, with possible higher activity noted below	Around midnight to dawn, radiant in the Sickle of Leo
Geminids	Dec 13 to 14, IMO maximum Dec 14, see below	Essentially full, computed 98 percent at peak, full Moon Dec 13	IMO ZHR 150 ideal, reduced by full Moon	Evening to 2 a.m., radiant near Castor

Why do three showers need care?

The Orionids peak window spans the nights of October 22 and October 23, 2027. The International Meteor Organization calendar puts the maximum on October 22 and describes it as broad, about a day, while EarthSky, citing the American Meteor Society, gives a predicted peak of 12:48 UTC on October 23 and describes a broad plateau lasting several days. Plan for both nights rather than a single settled peak night.

The International Meteor Organization 2027 calendar lists Leonids activity from November 6 to 30, a maximum on November 18 at 06:00 UTC, and a ZHR of about 15. It notes possible higher activity on November 17 and November 20, but calls the trail encounters uncertain, so those figures are possibilities only. Computed Moon illumination is about 80 percent at the peak instant, under a bright waning gibbous Moon.

The same calendar lists Geminids activity from December 4 to 20, a maximum on December 14 centered around 20:00 UTC, and a ZHR of 150. It states the full Moon severely disturbs visual observations at maximum. Computed illumination is 98 percent at peak, with the full Moon on December 13, so the ideal rate is not an expected visible count, and no observed 2027 count under the full Moon is given.

Which showers have the darkest Moon?

The Eta Aquariids have the darkest Moon, 2 percent with a new Moon on May 6, followed by the Quadrantids under a thin waning crescent. The Perseids need the hours after the gibbous Moon sets. The Lyrids and Geminids face bright Moonlight in 2027, and EarthSky says the Lyrid Moon will wash out all but the brightest meteors. Moon phases decide how dark the night is, and the Orionids and Leonids sit under a waning gibbous Moon. For a guided night, the Stargaze tour is a live offering.