Animal Crossing: New Horizons — shooting star guide

One of the best Nintendo Switch games of 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons features all sorts of weather and seasonal changes. Still, there's something else you will definitely want to watch the skies for: meteor showers! If you're lucky enough to wish upon shooting stars, your island will be blessed with Star Fragments - rare crafting materials. You can use shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to D.I.Y. all sorts of things, and we have the complete list.

What are shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Much like in real life, shooting stars are meteors - pieces of asteroids or comets that have broken up and burn as they enter the atmosphere. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, these meteor showers last for several hours, nine hours to be precise. From 7 PM until 4 AM, hundreds of shooting stars will cross the skies on your island, but only on especially clear nights. Fortunately, if you're talking with your villagers daily, they will let you know when a meteor shower is going to happen. Then, just follow these easy steps:

1. Pick a nice spot with a clear view of the horizon.
2. Tilt the right joystick up to look up at the sky with empty hands.
3. Wait for a shooting star.
4. Press A to make a wish.
5. Repeat.

And just like that, you've lit up the stars shooting across the sky. You can keep doing this until 4 AM when the shower will end. Don't get discouraged if it seems like the shooting stars have stopped sooner than that. They tend to come in waves, with lulls in between.

Why should you watch for shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Aside from being pretty, there's an excellent reason to watch the meteor showers: Star Fragments. By wishing on a shooting star (or lots of them!), you can make sure those meteors land on your island. When you wake up the next day, you will find Star Fragments washed up on the shore, just like seashells. 

Depending on how many shooting stars you wished upon, you can find a lot of these Star Fragments. They come in multiple different varieties and are a rare crafting material. Since this is the only way to get Star Fragments and meteor showers are relatively uncommon, you'll want to make the most of the nights when you have the chance. During any meteor shower, you can earn several normal Star Fragments and a couple Large Star Fragments.

You can also earn a few Zodiac Fragments based on the date of the shower itself:

• Aquarius Fragment: January 20 until February 18
• Pisces Fragment: Feb 19 until March 20
• Aries Fragment: March 21 until April 19
• Taurus Fragment: April 20 until May 20
• Gemini Fragment: May 21 until June 20
• Cancer Fragment: June 21 until July 22
• Leo Fragment: July 23 until August 22
• Virgo Fragment: August 23 until September 22
• Libra Fragment: September 23 until October 22
• Scorpio Fragment: October 23 until November 21
• Sagittarius Fragment: November 22 until December 21
• Capricorn Fragment: December 22 until January 19

Fortunately, you can get a lot of fragments from one meteor shower. For my first meteor shower, I earned 31 Star Fragments, seven Aries Fragments, and two Large Star Fragments. However, many have suggested there is a limit of 20 total fragments when you wish on stars on a friend's island. So far, I've not been able to earn more than 20 from friends' meteor showers, but this hasn't been officially confirmed.

Shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Nook Miles too!

Wishing on shooting stars will also count towards the Nook Miles+ Program challenges. That translates into a bunch of Nook Miles and six title keywords. It takes 200 wishes to complete all three challenges, but you can easily do this in one meteor shower.

Shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Can my friends come too?

Absolutely! Life is better with friends, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is no different. If you have friends who play Animal Crossing too, open up your island and invite them over for the meteor shower! Throughout the evening, I was able to invite over five different friends to my first meteor shower via online multiplayer, and each of them found Star Fragments on their beaches the next day. Just keep in mind that you have to leave your island open the entire time your friends are visiting. 

Each friend coming and going will tie up your game for a little bit during which you could be missing out on shooting stars. You might want to coordinate with your friends to arrive before the shower starts, to wait to leave until everyone is finished, and use Dodo Codes, so other friends aren't just randomly popping in and out.

Kapp'n's Island Tours Star Fragment rocks

As part of the new Animal Crossing 2.0 update, players can now go on one island tour with Kapp'n each day. These tours can take you to a variety of islands with different seasons, times of day, and items. There's even an island that gives Star Fragments when you hit the rocks.

Landing on this island is likely very rare, but it will help you gather up those precious Star Fragments more quickly so you can get to building those awesome Shooting Star DIY recipes.

Shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Celeste

Once you have all these Star Fragments, you might be wondering what to do with them. Well, unfortunately, you might be stuck waiting. Eventually, Blathers' little sister, Celeste, will come to visit your island. Some players have reported it taking nearly three weeks for her to show up, others met her much sooner, and some have yet to meet her. When she does show up, however, this owl will give you new recipes to use your Star Fragments.

Shooting stars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons — D.I.Y. Recipes

There are several D.I.Y. Crafts to be made using Star Fragments. Most of these recipes come from Celeste on her rare visits, so make sure you're checking around your island often after sunset. If you find Celeste and talk to her, she will likely gift you with a recipe. If you show her one of the special Zodiac Fragments, she will also tell you a story about the Zodiac in question. There are a few recipes obtained in other ways, in particular seasonal event items, and more may be discovered in the future.

Magic Wands

The first DIY recipe you can get from Celeste is for a Magic Wand. The Magic Wand lets you change clothes between eight different outfits in the same way your Tool Ring lets you switch through preset tools. 

There are many varieties of Magic Wand you can craft, but for each, you need to collect a different D.I.Y. Recipe:

Note: While you can carry the variants of the Magic Wand and use them the same as the Magic Wand, regardless which you use, they all pull from the same set of eight outfits. You cannot save more than eight outfits at a time, no matter how many wands you have.

Zodiac Furniture

Each month, in addition to Star Fragments, you can also collect special Zodiac Fragments after wishing on stars. These fragments can be taken to Celeste, which will prompt her to share a story about the Zodiac sign and a recipe for a piece of Zodiac Furniture:

Because these recipes and Zodiac Fragments are only available during their respective months, without time traveling, it will take roughly one year to complete each.

Other Recipes

While best known for the Magic Wand and Zodiac Furniture, Star Fragments are used in many other recipes. Most, if not all, of these recipes are obtained from Celeste, but more may come in the future. These are all the ones we know of so far:

Wishin' and dreamin'

Celeste's presence has been greatly expanded in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is one of the best Nintendo Switch games. Magic wands allow players to change their outfits on the fly, and the space-themed furniture is great for decorating both your house and your island. For collect-a-thon fans, earning these DIY recipes over the course of a year is fantastic.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Embark on a new journey with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Move in on a deserted island, make friends with the locals, and decorate your entire town! Curate your experience and live the way YOU want.

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