The Orionid meteor shower
Predicted peak: According to the RASC Observer’s Handbook, the predicted peak is 18 UTC on October 21, 2026. But the Orionids are known to have a broad, plateau-like maximum lasting several nights. So several mornings around October 21 would potentially show you some meteors. Note that you’ll be competing with a bright, waxing moon — up for most of the night. It’ll be encroaching on your sky darkness more with each passing day. Full moon falls on the night of October 25-26. Still, don’t let that bright moon in early evening fool you! You will have a dark window before dawn for watching the Orionids around the peak mornings.
When to watch: In 2026, be sure to watch for Orionid meteors in the hours before dawn. Otherwise, you’ll be watching in bright moonlight.
Overall duration of shower: September 26 to November 22. This time period is when we’re passing through the meteor stream in space!
Radiant: The radiant rises before midnight and is highest in the sky around 6 a.m. See chart below.
Nearest moon phase: The full moon falls at 4:12 UTC on October 26. So, during the Orionids’ peak, there’ll be a bright waxing gibbous moon visible after midnight. But the moon will set several hours before dawn on the peak mornings. So the best time to watch is during the dark hours before dawn.
Expected meteors at peak, under ideal conditions: The American Meteor Society says, “In exceptional years, such as 2006–2009, peak rates were comparable to the Perseids, at 50–75 per hour. Recent displays have produced low to average activity.” What should you expect for 2026? No way to know. Best to expect about 10 to 20 meteors per hour — and be delighted if you get more. That’s under a dark sky with no moon. Before dawn is the ticket in 2026!
Note: These fast-moving meteors occasionally leave persistent trains. The Orionids sometimes produce bright fireballs.
Report a fireball (very bright meteor) to the American Meteor Society: it’s fun and easy!
Orionid meteor shower peaks near a full moon
As for most meteor showers, the hours between midnight and dawn are best for the Orionids. A bright waxing gibbous moon will result in moonlit skies during the peak times of the Orionids in 2026. Luckily, the moon will set a few hours before dawn. If you watch before the moon sets, the best bet to catch the most meteors is to place yourself in the moon’s shadow while watching for meteors.
The term meteor shower might give you the idea of a rain shower. But few meteor showers resemble showers of rain. And the Orionids aren’t the year’s strongest shower, anyway. Plus they’re not particularly known for storming (producing unexpected, very rich displays). From a dark location you might see 10 to 20 Orionids per hour at their peak. There’s always the element of uncertainty and possible surprise when it comes to meteor showers, though.
Orionids zip through the sky
If you do see any Orionids, note that they’re known to be extremely fast meteors, plummeting into Earth’s atmosphere at about 41 miles per second (66 km/s or 91 mph). But they leave trains, or ionized gas trails, that last for a few seconds after the meteor itself has gone. Maybe half of the Orionid meteors leave persistent trains. Also, sometimes, an Orionid meteor can be exceptionally bright and break up into fragments.
Generally speaking, the Orionids aren’t especially colorful compared to some other showers (like the Perseids or Geminids). They tend to appear white or faintly yellow, since their particles are very small and moving extremely fast. That speed produces bright, sharp flashes, but not a wide range of colors.
That said, occasional Orionids can show a green or orange tint, depending on their composition and how deeply they penetrate the atmosphere. Green hints at nickel or magnesium. Orange/yellow suggests sodium or iron. A few bright fireballs may even show a brief sequence of colors – as the one below does – as they break apart. So while most Orionids look like white streaks of light, now and then you might catch one with a flash of color: a little extra “magic” from Halley’s comet.
Orionid meteors radiate from constellation Orion
How will you know if the meteor you see is an Orionid? You’ll know because it’ll come from the shower’s radiant point. Meteors in annual showers are named for the point in our sky from which they appear to radiate. The radiant point for the Orionids is in the direction of the famous constellation Orion the Hunter, which you’ll find ascending in the east in the hours after midnight during October. Hence the name Orionids.
You don’t need to know Orion, or be staring toward it, to see the meteors. The meteors often don’t become visible until they are 30 degrees or so from their radiant point. And, remember, they are streaking out from the radiant in all directions. They will appear in all parts of the sky.
But if you do see a meteor – and trace its path backward – you might see that it comes from Orion. And, if so, that meteor will be an Orionid. You might know Orion’s bright, ruddy star Betelgeuse. The radiant is north of Betelgeuse.
So … in which direction do you look? No particular direction. It’s best to find a wide-open viewing area. Sometimes friends like to watch together, facing different directions. When somebody sees one, that person can call out meteor!
The parent comet of the Orionid meteor shower
From the late, great Don Machholz (1952-2022), who discovered 12 comets …
The Orionid meteors that we observe come from Halley’s comet. This comet orbits the sun every 76 years or so, and like steam coming from a locomotive, dust particles are expelled from the comet’s nucleus and are left behind in its path. We intercept this path in late October each year. The nucleus of the comet loses between 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) of material on each passage through the inner solar system. Measuring 5 by 9 miles (8 by 14 kilometers) in size, it can handle eons of orbits around the sun.
The official name for Halley’s comet is 1P/Halley. It was the first comet to have its return predicted, and Edmond Halley was the one who made that calculation. The comet typically gets bright enough to be easily visible with recorded observations since 240 CE. It is one of only a few comets named not after its discoverer but after the person who calculated its orbit.
Unlike most solar system objects, Halley’s comet orbits the sun in a retrograde orbit, going around the sun in the opposite direction than we do. Its orbit is also tilted a bit to ours, and it spends most of its time below the plane of our path. Presently, it is at its farthest point from the sun, near the head of the constellation Hydra the Water Snake, too faint to be seen.
Two meteor showers
The Orionids are produced from Halley’s comet’s particles on its inbound leg. They are moving in one direction, we are moving in nearly the opposite direction, and the combined speeds produce fast-moving meteors. But we also encounter its particles from its outbound leg when it’s leaving the inner solar system. We reach that point in early May. They produce the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. So this comet generates two meteor showers.
Halley’s comet was last here in 1986 and will return in 2061. But the Orionids never go away. They’re here every October. Go out and see some pieces of this famous comet.
Bottom line: In 2026, the Orionid meteor shower should rain down its greatest number of meteors on the morning of October 21. The bright gibbous moon will light up the sky when the radiant is highest in the sky, but it will set a few hours before dawn. So the best time to watch for meteors is in the dark hours before dawn.
**Predicted peak times and dates for meteor showers are from the American Meteor Society. Note that meteor shower peak times can vary.
EarthSky’s meteor shower guide
Meteor showers: Tips for watching the show
Learn how to shoot photos of meteors
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