When you wish upon a star...
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you've probably seen rainy weather, or balloons floating across the sky carrying presents. 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 that can be used to D.I.Y. all sorts of things, and we here at iMore have all the details!
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:
- Pick a nice spot with a clear view of the horizon.
- Tilt the right joystick up to look up at the sky with empty hands.
- Wait for a shooting star.
- Press A to make a wish.
- 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?
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
- Capricornus 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.
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.
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, 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 DodoCodes, so other friends aren't just randomly popping in and out.
For more, see our Animal Crossing: New Horizons Multiplayer Guide.
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.
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:
- Magic Wand: The original Magic Wand recipe is gifted to you when you first meet Celeste. It costs three Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment.
- Bamboo Wand: A seasonal variant recipe of the Magic Wand that uses Bamboo, and can be found in a present balloon in the spring. It costs six Young Spring Bamboo and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Cherry-Blossom Wand: Another seasonal variant recipe that uses Cherry Blossoms and can be found during a present balloon during the Cherry-Blossom Festival. It costs three Cherry-Blossom Petals and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Bunny Day Wand: A seasonal event variant recipe gifted by Zipper after completing the Bunny Day crafts. It costs one Wobbling Zipper Toy and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Ice Wand: A seasonal variant recipe that can only be gained during the winter, after building a perfect Snowboy. It costs one Large Snowflake and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Wedding Wand: A seasonal variant recipe gifted from Cyrus during the Wedding Season. It costs one Wedding Flower Stand and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Mushroom Wand: A seasonal variant recipe that can be found in a present balloon during mushroom season. It costs three Skinny Mushrooms and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Shell Wand: Another seasonal variant found during the summer in a present balloon. It costs three Summer Shells and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Tree-branch Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs five Tree Branches and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Iron Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs three Iron Nuggets and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Golden Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs two Gold Nuggets and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Cosmos Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one White Cosmos and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Hyacinth Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Pink Hyacinth and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Lily Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one White Lily and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Mums Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Yellow Mum and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Pansy Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Yellow Pansy and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Rose Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Red Rose and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Tulip Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Red Tulip and three Star Fragments to craft.
- Windflower Wand: A recipe obtained from Celeste. It costs one Orange Windflower and three Star Fragments to craft.
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:
- Aries Rocking Chair: A cute rocking "horse" shaped like a ram. It costs three Star Fragments, two Aries fragments, one gold nugget, and five stones to craft.
- Cancer Table: A golden crab holding up a table. It costs three Star Fragments, two Cancer Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and three Stones to craft.
- Capricorn Ornament: A white statue with golden ornamentation featuring a sea-goat. It costs three Star Fragments, two Capricorn Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and 12 Stones to craft.
- Gemini Closet: A white cabinet with gold accents featuring twins on the doors. It costs three Star Fragments, two Gemini Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and six Stones to craft.
- Leo Sculpture: A head sculpture of a lion with a golden mane. It costs three Star Fragments, two Leo Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and three Stones to craft.
- Libra Scale: The classic scales of Libra in gold. It costs three Star Fragments, two Libra Fragments, and two Gold Nuggets to craft.
- Pisces Lamp: A pair of white fish atop a golden lamppost. It costs three Star Fragments, two Pisces Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and four Stones to craft.
- Saggitarius Arrow: The bow and arrow of Saggitarius in gold. It costs three Star Fragments, two Saggitarius Fragments, and two Gold Nuggets to craft.
- Scorpio Lamp: A golden scorpion holding up a white lamp. It costs three Star Fragments, two Scorpio Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and five Stones to craft.
- Taurus Bathtub: A tub in the shape of a white bull with golden hooves and horns. It costs three Star Fragments, two Taurus Fragments, one Gold Nugget, and eight Stones to craft.
- Virgo Harp: A white harp in the shape of a young maiden with golden hair. It costs three Star Fragments, two Virgo Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and four Stones to craft.
- Aquarius Urn: A white urn decorated with golden symbols of waves. It costs three Star Fragments, two Aquarius Fragments, two Gold Nuggets, and five Stones to craft.
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:
- Lunar Surface: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Galaxy Flooring: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Starry Wall: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Starry-Sky Wall: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Sci-fi Wall: One of the coolest wallpapers in the game, this recipe comes from Celeste. This wallpaper will turn your room into a space ship, with the twinkling stars passing by massive windows.
- Sci-fi Flooring : A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Nova Light: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments to craft.
- Star Clock: A Celeste recipe, this costs three Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Moon: One of Celeste's most sought after recipes, this recipe lets you craft a glowing model of the moon. It costs 15 Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Asteroid: A Celeste recipe; this lets you craft a model of an asteroid. It costs ten Stones and five Star Fragments to craft.
- Astronaut Suit: A Celeste recipe; this lets you craft an astronaut suit. It costs five Iron Nuggets and five Star Fragments to craft.
- Lunar Rover: A Celeste recipe; this lets you craft a model of a lunar rover. It costs ten Iron Nuggets, four Old Tires, and ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Crewed Spaceship: A Celeste recipe; this lets you craft a model spaceship. It costs 20 Iron Nuggets and ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Lunar Lander: A Celeste recipe, this costs 15 Iron Nuggets and ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Crescent-Moon Chair: A Celeste recipe, this costs seven Star Fragments and one Large Star Fragment to craft.
- Flying Saucer: A Celeste recipe, this costs ten Iron Nuggets and 15 Star Fragments to craft.
- Rocket: A Celeste recipe, this costs 20 Iron Nuggets and ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Satellite: A Celeste recipe, this costs 15 Iron Nuggets and ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Space Shuttle: A Celeste recipe, this costs ten Iron Nuggets and five Star Fragments to craft.
- Starry Garland: A Celeste recipe, this costs ten Star Fragments to craft.
- Star Head:: A Celeste recipe, this costs five Star Fragments to craft.
- Star Pochette: A Celeste recipe, this costs six Star Fragments to craft.
Questions?
Do you have any questions about meteor shows, wishing on shooting stars, or Star Fragments in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Want to show off your biggest haul? Drop us a comment below and be sure to check out our other Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides for all your Nook approved goodness!
