Check 6M during meteor showers, it is a fun time to work other 6M stations on meteor scatter! Meteor scatter (MS) in ham radio uses the brief, ionized trails of meteors burning up in the atmosphere to reflect VHF/UHF signals, creating short-lived communication paths ( burst communications ) for contacts over hundreds of miles, often using voice and digital modes like FSK441 (WSJT-X) on 6 & 2 meters during meteor showers for long-distance. Meteor scatter communications has been used by ham radio VHF enthusiasts for many years. Using meteor scatter propagation enables ham radio contacts to be made over distances up to about 2000 km on the VHF bands. No long QSO’s just short contacts…interesting and fun!
Well, first of all you need to know that the Geminids are currently active until Wednesday 17th December 2025.
Geminids
Status: Active until December 17th
Peak: Dec 13-14 2025 (Moon 30% full.) This is the one major shower that provides good activity prior to midnight as the constellation of Gemini is well placed from 22:00 onward. The Geminids are often bright and intensely colored. Due to their medium-slow velocity, persistent trains are not usually seen. These meteors are also seen in the southern hemisphere, but only during the middle of the night and at a reduced rate.
Ursids
Status: Active from December 17th to December 26th
Peak: Dec 21-22 2025 (Moon 3% full.) The Ursids are often neglected due to the fact it peaks just before Christmas and the rates are much less than the Geminds, which peaks just a week before the Ursids. Observers will normally see 5-10 Ursids per hour during the late morning hours on the date of maximum activity. There have been occasional outbursts when rates have exceeded 25 per hour. This shower is strictly a northern hemisphere event as the radiant fails to clear the horizon or does so simultaneously with the start of morning twilight as seen from the southern tropics. In 2025, a slender crescent moon will be present in the evening sky and will not interfere with viewing this shower.
Quadrantids
Status: Active from December 28th to January 12th
Peak: Jan 2-3 2026 (Moon 100% full.) The Quadrantids have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but usually fall short due to the short length of maximum activity (6 hours) and the poor weather experienced during early January. The average hourly rates one can expect under dark skies is 25. These meteors usually lack persistent trains but often produce bright fireballs. Due to the high northerly declination (celestial latitude) these meteors are not well seen from the southern hemisphere. Predictions for 2026 show a peak near 21 UT on January 3rd. .Activity will be severely compromised in 2026 as a full moon occurs on January 3rd. The bright moonlight will obscure all but the brightest meteors therefore the best hourly rates are expected to be less than 10.