The Orionids meteor shower
- Next peak
- October 21, 2026, 18:08 UTC
- Active
- about Oct 2 to Nov 7
- ZHR (ideal rate)
- 20
- Moon at the 2026 peak
- 78% lit, badly moonlit
- Radiant
- Orion
- Speed
- 66 km/s
- Parent body
- comet 1P/Halley
- Best from
- both hemispheres
The Orionids are Halley's Comet's October delivery, the inbound counterpart of May's Eta Aquariids. The meteors are fast and frequently leave trains that hang in the sky for seconds; the shower sometimes runs above its usual rates for several years at a stretch.
Peak times and moonlight, 2026-2028
Peaks below are computed from the shower's solar longitude, the same way the professional calendars do it, not read off a fixed date. Moonlight makes or breaks a meteor year, so each peak carries its Moon verdict.
| Year | Peak (UTC) | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | October 21, 2026, 18:08 UTC | Moon 78% lit, badly moonlit |
| 2027 | October 22, 2027, 00:24 UTC | Moon 58% lit, some moonlight |
| 2028 | October 21, 2028, 06:26 UTC | Moon 13% lit, dark skies |
Your best viewing window
Enter a location (or use your device's) and we compute the real watch window for the coming peak night: sky fully dark, Moon out of the way, radiant usefully high. All in your browser; coordinates never leave your device.
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Watching the Orionids
The radiant north of Betelgeuse clears the horizon around 11 pm and is best placed in the small hours. Rates are similar from both hemispheres, a rarity among major showers.
How to watch any meteor shower
No instrument beats your own eyes: binoculars and telescopes see too little sky. Get away from direct lights, lie back so you can watch a wide stretch of sky about halfway up, and give your eyes a full 20 minutes to adapt (no phone screens; red light if you need it). Meteors appear all over the sky, not just at the radiant, so face whichever direction is darkest for you.
What the ZHR really promises
Every shower is advertised by its ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate, and every year that number disappoints people who take it literally. The ZHR is a standardized laboratory figure: the rate one experienced observer would count under a perfectly dark sky (limiting magnitude 6.5) with the radiant directly overhead. Real skies are brighter, real radiants sit lower, and real eyes miss meteors.
A workable rule: from a genuinely dark rural sky with the radiant high, expect to see about half the ZHR. From a typical suburb, a quarter or less. That said, a single brilliant fireball can outweigh an hour of counting, and the showers on this page all earn their reputations in a dark sky.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Orionids peak in 2026?
The computed peak comes on October 21, 2026 at 18:08 UTC, with the shower active from about Oct 2 to Nov 7. Meteor peaks are broad enough that the nights on either side are usually worth watching too.
How many meteors will I actually see?
The headline ZHR of 20 is a standardized ideal, not a forecast. Under a truly dark sky with the radiant high, expect roughly half that; from a bright suburb, a quarter or less. Moonlight matters as much as anything: in 2026 the Moon is 78% lit at the peak (badly moonlit).
Where should I look to see the Orionids?
Everywhere: meteors streak across the whole sky. The radiant, the point their paths trace back to, lies in Orion, but staring at it shows you the shortest trails. Watch a wide area of dark sky about halfway up, in whatever direction is darkest from your site.
What causes the Orionids?
Debris from comet 1P/Halley. Each October, Earth crosses the stream of particles this body has shed along its orbit; they hit the atmosphere at 66 kilometers per second and burn up as the streaks we see.
Keep exploring: all 13 major showers ranked for the year ahead, how meteor showers work from first principles, and the Sky Map, which draws every active radiant on tonight's sky.