Orionid meteor shower 2026: peak night and best time to watch

When to watch

The Orionids peak on the night of 21-22 October 2026. The nights before and after are also worth it, with slightly lower rates. This year the Moon gets in the way: it is about 80% lit and up for most of the night. So the best time is the window between moonset and the start of dawn.

Night of 21-22 October, local time:

City	Moonset	Dark sky until
Warsaw	02:15	05:19
London	02:46	05:44
Madrid	04:15	07:02
New York	03:09	05:43
Tokyo	01:22	04:28
Sydney	03:35	04:37

In those hours the sky is properly dark and the radiant, the point the meteors seem to come from, is already high in the south-east. Check the times for your own city on Sky tonight, which shows moonrise, moonset and astronomical night.

How many meteors to expect

The rate quoted in calendars (around 20 an hour) assumes a perfect dark sky. In practice, especially near a town, expect a few to a dozen or so an hour. Orionids are fast, hitting the atmosphere at about 66 km/s, so they often leave short glowing trails.

Where they come from

They are grains of dust shed by Halley’s Comet. Earth crosses the stream twice a year: in May (the Eta Aquariids) and in October (the Orionids). The comet itself will not be back near the Sun until 2061, but you can see its debris every autumn.

How to watch

• Get away from city lights. Find the darkest spots near you on the light pollution map.
• Check the cloud map first. With thick cloud there is no point going out.
• Give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt to the dark and keep away from your phone screen.
• Lie on a mat or a reclining chair and look at a wide area of sky. You do not need to aim at Orion.
• Dress warmly. October nights can already be frosty.