Overview
- The shower reaches its maximum overnight Wednesday into Thursday, Oct. 21–22, when Earth passes through the densest part of debris left by Halley’s Comet.
- Under very dark skies the Orionids can produce about 10–20 meteors per hour, but visible counts will be lower for most people due to the Moon’s brightness and local light pollution.
- Orionid meteors strike the atmosphere very fast, roughly 66 kilometers per second, and can leave bright streaks, glowing trains or occasional fireballs.
- Experts advise observers to go to a dark site, allow 20–30 minutes for eyes to adapt, lie back to scan a wide area of sky and avoid telescopes or binoculars, with the strongest practical window after midnight and after the Moon sets.
- The shower is visible from both hemispheres and depends heavily on local weather, and stargazers looking for a more reliable show are pointed to the Geminid shower in mid‑December.