How to catch the peak of the Orionid meteor shower this week

Sometimes it's good to sit back, find a dark, quiet spot, and stare at some stars.

This week provides a great excuse, with the Orionid meteor shower peaking on Thursday morning, showering stargazers in meteors produced by Halley's comet.

In good, dark sky conditions, experts suggest you may be able to see a meteor every 4–5 minutes.

But with a bright Moon in the sky and the shower only being visible in certain hours, you will need to pick your time to see the best of the Orionids.

When can I see the Orionids?

The Orionid meteor shower started earlier this month and will continue until early November.

But according to amateur astronomer Ian Musgrave, it's worth making the effort to get out of bed early this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning from about 4am.

The very best time will be Thursday morning at the meteor shower's peak, when the most meteors will be visible in the sky as the Earth passes through the thickest part of a debris trail.

Unfortunately, this year the peak in the Orionids corresponds to an almost full Moon, so earlier in the night the meteor shower will be washed out by the bright Moon.

But by the early morning, the Moon will go below the horizon and this will make the sky darker and the Orionids easier to see.

"Between 4am to 5am under dark skies, you should see about a meteor every 4 to 5 minutes or so," Dr Musgrave said.

The debris for the Orionids and the Eta Aquarids meteor shower — in April to May — is caused by the trail of Halley's comet.

The comet orbits around the Sun but is only visible to the naked eye from Earth every 74 to 79 years. It will make its next pass in 2061.

How to see the most meteors

The first thing to do is to be in an area with as little light pollution as possible, ideally a dark sky site.

From about 4am local time on the east coast and 6am local time on the west coast, look towards the northern sky.

Meteor showers always come from a single point in the sky, called the "radiant point", so keep an eye out for meteors coming from just below Orion's belt.

University of Southern Queensland astronomer Jonti Horner says the Orionids overlap with another meteor shower called the Taurid meteor shower.

"Neither of them on its own is the best shower of the year," he said.

"But one shower [Orionid] has fairly swift meteors … and the other [Taurid] very slow meteors … and so they add up and put on a better show."

A better meteor shower is coming soon

Dr Horner says that the Orionids can be thought of as a warm-up act for the Geminid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-December.

"The Geminids are a better one to guarantee that you will get a good show if the skies are clear," he said.