Overview
- The Orionids are active from about Oct. 2 to Nov. 7 and are forecast to reach their maximum on Wednesday, Oct. 21 with a theoretical rate near 20 meteors per hour under perfect dark-sky conditions.
- The shower is caused by dust from Halley’s Comet striking Earth’s upper atmosphere at roughly 66 kilometres per second and about half of the meteors can leave brief glowing ionisation trails.
- The best viewing runs from midnight to dawn when Orion rises, viewers should let their eyes adjust for 20 to 30 minutes and no telescope is needed because the naked eye shows the widest sky.
- Observers in North Rhine–Westphalia are advised to use dark-sky sites such as Nationalpark Eifel, Kahler Asten, Drachenfels and the Urdenbacher Kämpfe to reduce light pollution and improve counts.
- Orionid activity can vary year to year and often stays elevated for several nights around the peak, so casual watchers should plan for multiple hours outdoors with a chair, warm clothes and a moon-free sky to maximize sightings.