The Orionid meteor shower will peak between Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 and will remain active until early November.
Viewing conditions for the Orionids are favorable this year with relatively little moonlight getting in the way of spotting the streaking meteors. Sometimes the Orionid meteor shower produces spectacular displays of up to 80 meteors an hour, but in recent years it has produced more modest displays of about 20 or 30 visible meteors per hour.
The Orionid meteor shower is produced when Earth passes through the debris or ice and dust left behind from Comet 1P/Halley, more commonly known as Halley’s Comet.
Related: Meteor shower guide 2022: Dates and viewing advice
Daisy Dobrijevic
Daisy joined Space.com in Feb. 2022. Before that, she worked as a staff writer for our sister publication All About Space magazine. Daisy has written numerous articles and guides for notable skywatching events including the Perseid meteor shower, the next solar eclipse and the next lunar eclipse.
Did you know?
The Orionids are the second meteor shower in the year created by Halley’s Comet, the Eta Aquarids in May are also created by the famous comet.
The meteors that streak across the sky are some of the fastest among meteor showers because Earth is hitting the stream of particles from Halley’s Comet almost head-on.
Orionids zip through the sky at 41 miles (opens in new tab) (66 kilometers) per second, only 3 miles (5 km) per second slower than the speedy Leonids, according to NASA Science (opens in new tab).
Where can you see the Orionid meteor shower?
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Orion constellation position:
Right ascension: 5 hours
Declination: 5 degrees
Visible between: Latitudes 85 and minus 75 degrees
The Orionids are visible to skywatchers in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (weather permitting of course).
Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to emanate, known as the radiant. From Earth’s perspective, the Orionid meteor shower appears to come approximately from the direction of the Orion constellation.
Orion is located on the celestial equator and is visible throughout the world. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, Orion is located in the southwestern sky and if you are in the Southern Hemisphere it is visible in the northwestern sky. The three bright stars Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak that form Orion’s belt are the easiest to spot.
Don’t look directly at Orion to find meteors, as the shooting stars will be visible throughout the sky. Make sure to move your gaze around the nearby constellations as meteors closer to the radiant have shorter trains (glowing trails of debris) and are more difficult to spot. If you only look at Orion you might miss the more spectacular Orionids.
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To best see the Orionid meteor shower, go to the darkest possible location, lean back and relax. You don’t need equipment like telescopes or binoculars as the secret is to take in as much sky as possible and allow about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.
If you want more advice on photographing the Orionids, check out our how-to photograph meteors and meteor showers guide. If you need imaging gear, consider our best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
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When is the best time to view the Orionid meteor shower?
The best time to view the Orionid meteor shower is between midnight and dawn when the shower’s radiant, the Orion constellation, is high in the sky.
The Orionids are active from Oct. 2 until Nov. 7 according to timeanddate (opens in new tab) and will peak between Oct. 21 and Oct. 22.
This year, the new moon on Oct. 25 will provide dark skies that are perfect for meteor hunting. To calculate sunrise and moonrise times in your location check out this custom sunrise-sunset calculator (opens in new tab).
What causes the Orionid meteor shower?
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The Orionids are caused by the debris of ice and dust left behind by Halley’s Comet when it passes through the solar system. According to the UK Meteor Network (opens in new tab), the meteors we see today come from debris left by Halley’s Comet hundreds of years ago as the current orbit of the comet doesn’t bring it close enough to Earth to produce meteors.
When Earth passes through the comet debris, the “comet crumbs” heat up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere producing impressive “shooting stars” that streak across the sky.
Halley’s Comet takes about 76 years to orbit the sun once and will not enter the solar system again until 2061.
The comet is named after English astronomer Edmond Halley who examined reports of comets approaching Earth in 1531, 1607 and 1682. He concluded that these sightings were all of the same comet returning over and over again. Halley predicted the comet would return in 1758. Though he did not live to see the comet’s correctly-predicted return, it was later named in his honor.
Editor’s note: If you snap a great photo of an Orionid meteor or any other night sky sight you’d like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a story or image gallery, send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com (opens in new tab).
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) and on Facebook (opens in new tab).
Additional information
Have you seen a fireball recently? Report the sighting (opens in new tab) to the American Meteor Society to help contribute to fireball research. Explore the historical significance of Halley’s Comet and the Battle of Hastings with this NASA feature (opens in new tab). Take a tour of meteors and meteorites through history on this Google Arts & Culture feature (opens in new tab) courtesy of Adler Planetarium.
Bibliography
Bailey, D. 2022 Orionid Meteor Shower. UK Meteor Network. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://ukmeteornetwork.co.uk/showers/2022-orionids/ (opens in new tab)
NASA. Leonids. NASA. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/leonids/in-depth/ (opens in new tab)
NASA. Orionids. NASA. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/orionids/in-depth/ (opens in new tab)
Orionids meteor shower 2022. timeanddateRetrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/orionid.html (opens in new tab)
