Orionids meteor shower peaks overnight Oct. 21-22 from Halley's Comet debris
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The gist
The Orionids peak overnight Oct. 21-22, with 10-20 meteors per hour under dark skies.
The Moon sets before dawn, opening the best viewing window for Halley's Comet debris.
Background
The Orionids are an annual meteor shower created when Earth passes through debris left by Halley's Comet, the comet that last passed through the inner solar system in 1986 and will return in 2061. Halley's Comet produces two annual showers because its orbit comes close to Earth at two points — the Orionids in late October and the Eta Aquariids in early May. This year a bright Moon complicates viewing, but it sets several hours before dawn, when the constellation Orion is high in the sky.
How it unfolded
- Oct 2, 2026The Orionid meteor shower becomes active, according to the American Meteor Society.
- Oct 14, 2026Sky & Telescope publishes viewing guidance, noting the 82% waxing gibbous Moon in Aquarius sets around 3 a.m., leaving nearly 3 hours of dark skies before dawn.
- Oct 17, 2026Space.com reports the shower peaks overnight Oct. 21-22 as Earth plunges through the densest part of Halley's Comet's debris trail.
- Oct 19, 2026Jon U. Bell, director of Hallstrom Planetarium, gives viewing advice by email; Michigan forecasters predict mainly clear, dry conditions overnight Oct. 21-22.
- Oct 20, 2026Live Science and other outlets publish peak-viewing stories; Live Science says the peak could produce around 20 meteors per hour under a dark sky, per Time and Date.
- Oct 21, 2026The Orionid radiant rises above the horizon in New York around 10:16 p.m., according to TimeandDate.com.
- Oct 21, 2026 -22, 2026The Orionids peak overnight Wednesday into Thursday; best viewing is between midnight and dawn, with 10-20 shooting stars per hour under ideal dark skies, and sunrise across New York shortly after 7 a.m. ends the best window.
- Nov 7, 2026The shower is expected to remain active through at least Nov. 7, according to the American Meteor Society; one source says it lasts until Nov. 22, 2026.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- NASA calls the Orionids one of the most beautiful showers of the year, known for their brightness and speed, with meteors traveling about 41 miles (66 kilometers) per second and sometimes leaving glowing trains or fireballs.
- Expert
- Jon U. Bell, director of Hallstrom Planetarium, advises facing east and looking upward from the horizon toward the zenith, noting most meteors are fairly faint but brighter fireballs occur.
- Analysts
- Space.com says the meteors are among the fastest because Earth hits Halley's Comet's particle stream almost head-on, while the American Meteor Society puts their atmospheric speed at about 148,000 mph.
- Caution
- The American Meteor Society notes the Moon will be about 77% illuminated and waxing gibbous during the peak, while EarthSky says it sinks below the horizon several hours before dawn, creating ideal viewing skies.