Orionid meteor shower 2026: how to watch the Oct 21–22 peak

One of autumn's prettiest meteor showers peaks next week. According to NASA and the American Meteor Society, the Orionids reach their maximum on the night of 21–22 October 2026. This year the Moon will get in the way for part of the night, so timing matters.

What are the Orionids?

Meteors are tiny bits of comet or asteroid debris burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The Orionids come from Comet 1P/Halley: each time Halley swings through the inner solar system it sheds dust, and every October Earth passes through that trail.

They're named after the constellation Orion because their radiant, the point they appear to fly from, lies just north of the bright star Betelgeuse. NASA describes them as some of the most beautiful meteors of the year.

How many meteors to expect

• Typical rate: about 10–20 meteors per hour at the peak under dark skies, according to NASA and the AMS.
• Speed: around 66 km/s (41 miles per second). Fast meteors can leave glowing trains that hang in the sky for seconds or even minutes, and some become fireballs.
• Good and bad years: the AMS notes that in exceptional years such as 2006–2009 the Orionids produced 50–75 meteors per hour, while recent displays have been low to average.

The shower is active from 2 October to 7 November, so you can catch a few meteors on nights around the peak too.

The Moon problem in 2026

On peak night the Moon is waxing gibbous, about 74% lit (AMS), and its glare will wash out fainter meteors while it's up. NASA's advice for October is to look before dawn, after moonset.

By our calculation, on the morning of 22 October the Moon sets at about 02:45 in Kyiv (EEST), 02:50 in London and 03:10 in New York, with astronomical dawn around 05:40 local time in all three. That leaves a dark window of roughly three hours before first light. Check a local moonset time if you're elsewhere.

How to watch

NASA's tips work in both hemispheres:

1. Get away from lights. Find a spot well away from city and street lighting.
2. Get comfortable. Bring a blanket, sleeping bag or reclining chair.
3. Face the right way. Lie on your back with your feet towards the southeast in the Northern Hemisphere (northeast in the Southern Hemisphere) and take in as much sky as possible. Meteors can appear anywhere, not only near Orion.
4. Be patient. Within about 30 minutes in the dark your eyes adapt. Keep your phone screen off or dimmed.

You don't need a telescope or binoculars: they show too little sky, though they're great for exploring the Moon and star clusters on other nights (see how to choose binoculars for stargazing). If you want to try capturing a meteor, our guide to night-sky photography with a phone covers settings and stabilisation. If the shower sparks a bigger interest, see how to choose a beginner telescope for planets and the Moon.