Overview
- The Orionids, which peak overnight Oct. 21–22, are debris from Halley’s Comet and can produce about 10–20 meteors per hour under truly dark skies.
- A bright waxing gibbous Moon will wash out many faint meteors early in the night, so the best practical window is after the Moon sets and before local dawn.
- Local weather and light pollution remain the main limits on what observers will actually see, and several outlets urge viewers to find a dark site and allow 20–30 minutes for eyes to adjust.
- Orionid meteors are unusually fast at roughly 41 miles per second and can be very bright, sometimes leaving glowing trains or producing occasional fireballs visible even in brighter skies.
- The shower is active from early October through about Nov. 7 and serves as an annual reminder of Halley’s Comet, which last passed close in 1986 and will next return in 2061, while stronger displays like the Geminids follow in December.