ZHR
Zenithal Hourly Rate is a standardized reference under ideal dark-sky conditions with the radiant at zenith. It is not the number your camera should record per hour.
Put the meteor radiant in the right part of your frame
Start with the questions that matter in the field: is this shower worth shooting at the selected time, which direction should you face, and how much will the Moon interfere? Use a peak-night preset or your current local time first. UTC, exact coordinates, ZHR and the full geometry stay available in the precise controls.
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Peak night—
Reference ZHR—
Peak-night Moon—
Radiant altitude—
Radiant azimuth—
Radiant geometry factor—
ZHR is not your camera’s hourly count
ZHR is normalized to an ideal dark sky with the radiant at zenith. The displayed sin(altitude) factor only illustrates one geometric loss. It is deliberately not multiplied into a fake “expected meteors per hour” prediction.
Composition
Aim some distance away from the radiant if you want longer meteor trails; near the radiant, apparent paths are shorter. Use a wide enough field to keep useful sky area while leaving a foreground anchor.
Moon interference
The peak-night Moon percentage is only event context. The live metrics use your selected UTC instant to estimate Moon illumination, altitude and angular separation from the shower radiant. A bright Moon above the horizon and close to the target sky is more disruptive than the same phase below the horizon or far from your intended frame. This remains a planning approximation, not a sky-brightness forecast: transparency, haze and local light pollution still matter.
Data source
2026 peak-night, radiant, ZHR and peak-night Moon references are checked against the International Meteor Organization 2026 calendar. The working list can be revised; re-check IMO before a trip.
Related
Why meteor-shower numbers are easy to misread
Radiant altitude
When the radiant is low, much of the activity is geometrically hidden below the horizon and visible meteor paths project differently. Higher radiant altitude generally improves effective opportunity.
Lens trade-off
A wide lens covers more sky but makes each meteor smaller; a longer lens records more detail but watches a much smaller solid angle. Exposure length also trades capture time against star trailing and background brightness.
Field workflow
Use the shower calendar to pick the night, then check radiant altitude, Moon altitude and illumination, clouds and darkness. Frame away from the exact radiant for longer trails and shoot many continuous frames.