Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: Halley's Comet Dust Lights Up the Sky

Look up. If the sky is clear where you are, you might catch a piece of Halley's Comet burning up above your head.

The Orionid meteor shower reached its peak on the night of October 21 into the early hours of October 22, 2026, and it is one of the most reliable shows in the sky every autumn.

Where do the Orionids come from?

Halley's Comet leaves a trail of dust and tiny rocks along its orbit. Every October, Earth passes through that trail. The particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, slam into our atmosphere at high speed and burn up as bright streaks. The shower is named after the constellation Orion, because the meteors seem to fan out from a point near Orion's raised club, just above the red star Betelgeuse.

How to watch

Best time: after midnight until just before dawn, when Orion is high in the sky.

No telescope or binoculars needed. Your eyes are the best tool.

Get away from city lights. A dark spot can roughly double the number of meteors you see.

Give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the dark and put your phone away.

Expect around 10 to 20 meteors per hour under good conditions. Orionid meteors are fast and often faint.

The Moon is a spoiler this year

The Moon is about three-quarters full and washes out the fainter meteors early in the night. The darker, later hours give you a better chance. The full Moon arrives on October 26.

Missed it? You have time.

The Orionids are active from October 2 to November 7, so you can still spot some meteors on the nights around the peak. The next show is the Leonid meteor shower, expected to peak around November 17 and 18, and the Geminids in December are usually the year's strongest.

Did you see any shooting stars last night? Share your sighting in the comments!

Sources: Space.com, Royal Museums Greenwich, Farmer's Almanac, Sortirap

aris, Starwalk.