- The 2026 Orionids peak on the night of 20 Oct–21 Oct; active 2 Oct – 7 Nov.
- Up to 20 meteors an hour in a perfect sky; on the peak night in London about 10 from a dark site, about 2 from town.
- The Moon is 74% lit but below the horizon at the best hour: the sky is dark.
- The radiant is in Orion, highest around 05:20.
- Source: 1P/Halley; speed 66 km/s.
When to look in 2026
The Orionids are active from 2 Oct to 7 Nov. The curve shows activity rising and falling, the dots under it how much of the Moon is lit each night.
Night by night
For each night the best hour is computed: the radiant high, the sky dark, the Moon in the way least. A dark site means out of town where the faintest stars show; town means a bright suburban sky.
| Night | ZHR | Moon | Best | Dark site | Town |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 14 Oct | 4 | 20 % | 06:00 | 2 | <1 |
| Thu 15 Oct | 5 | 28 % | 06:00 | 2 | <1 |
| Fri 16 Oct | 6 | 36 % | 06:00 | 3 | <1 |
| Sat 17 Oct | 8 | 46 % | 05:40 | 4 | 1 |
| Sun 18 Oct | 11 | 55 % | 05:40 | 6 | 1 |
| Mon 19 Oct | 14 | 65 % | 05:40 | 7 | 2 |
| Tue 20 OctPeakmost meteors | 19 | 74 % | 05:40 | 10 | 2 |
| Wed 21 Oct | 16 | 82 % | 05:00 | 8 | 2 |
| Thu 22 Oct | 12 | 89 % | 05:00 | 6 | 2 |
| Fri 23 Oct | 9 | 95 % | 05:40 | 5 | 1 |
| Sat 24 Oct | 7 | 99 % | 05:20 | 2 | <1 |
| Sun 25 Oct | 5 | 100 % | 03:40 | <1 | <1 |
| Mon 26 Oct | 4 | 99 % | 03:40 | <1 | <1 |
Where to look
The meteors fly out of the radiant in Orion. In London it rises around 22:00 and is highest while dark, 55°, around 05:20.
You do not have to look at the radiant itself: meteors appear all over the sky, and the longest ones 40–60° away from it. Lie back, take in as much sky as you can and stay with it for 20–30 minutes so your eyes adapt.
Where they come from
The Orionids are dust left over thousands of years by Halley's Comet (1P/Halley). The comet orbits the Sun about every 76 years: it was last near the Sun on 9 February 1986 and will return in July 2061. In October the Earth crosses the dust stream along its orbit, and grains no bigger than sand burn up about 100 km above the ground.
History
The Earth crosses Halley's stream twice a year: in May it shows as the Eta Aquariids, in October as the Orionids. A perfect sky usually gives about 20 meteors an hour, but from 2006 to 2009 rates were several times higher, up to 60–70 an hour, as the Earth ran into an older, denser layer of the comet's dust.
What they look like and how to watch
Orionids are among the fastest meteors, hitting the atmosphere at 66 km/s. They are brief but bright, and some leave a glowing train for a few seconds. The radiant lies in Orion, next to red Betelgeuse; it rises around 10 pm at mid-northern latitudes, so the hours after midnight, and especially before dawn, are best.
How many meteors you will really see
The ZHR (20) is how many meteors an observer would see in an hour in a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. The real count is always lower: the lower the radiant, the more meteors stay below the horizon, and every step of sky brightness hides the faintest ones.
This page uses the International Meteor Organization formula: hourly rate = ZHR × sine of the radiant altitude ÷ r^(6.5 − limiting magnitude). For this shower r = 2.5. A dark site is taken as showing stars to magnitude 6.0, a town to 4.5; moonlight takes off up to 1.8 magnitudes.
How to photograph a meteor
You need a camera with manual mode and a tripod. Wide-angle lens (14–24 mm), aperture wide open (f/1.8–f/2.8), ISO 1600–3200, exposures of 15–25 seconds. Focus manually on a bright star and tape the ring.
Shoot continuously with an intervalometer or remote, frame after frame for an hour or more. Meteors are random, so patience wins: one or two an hour is a normal catch. Aim 40–60° from the radiant, above the glow of the horizon.
Dates in the coming years
| Year | Peak | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Thursday · 21 October 2027 | 62 % |
| 2028 | Friday · 20 October 2028 | 11 % |
| 2029 | Saturday · 20 October 2029 | 98 % |
| 2030 | Sunday · 20 October 2030 | 33 % |
| 2031 | Tuesday · 21 October 2031 | 31 % |
| 2032 | Wednesday · 20 October 2032 | 94 % |
Other meteor showers
Questions people ask
When are the Orionids in 2026?
The peak is on the night of 20 Oct–21 Oct. The shower is active from 2 Oct to 7 Nov, so meteors show for several nights before and after.
What time is best?
In London on the peak night, around 05:40, when the radiant is 54° up and the Moon interferes least.
How many meteors will I see?
A ZHR of 20 is the perfect-sky figure. In London on the peak night expect about 10 an hour from a dark site and about 2 from town.
Which way should I look?
Meteors come from the direction of Orion but appear all over the sky. Look 40–60° away from the radiant, at the darkest part of the sky.
What causes the Orionids?
Dust left by 1P/Halley. The Earth crosses the stream at the same time every year, and the grains burn up in the atmosphere at 66 km/s.
Will the Moon get in the way?
The Moon is 74% lit but below the horizon at the best hour: the sky is dark.
- International Meteor Organization, Meteor Shower Calendar: activity periods, solar longitudes of the peaks, ZHR, population index.
- IMO Visual Observing Handbook: the hourly rate formula (ZHR, radiant altitude, limiting magnitude).
- Astronomy Engine (Don Cross): positions of the Sun, the Moon and the radiant.
- JPL Small-Body Database: comet and asteroid orbits.
The peak date is computed from the Sun's ecliptic longitude. The activity curve is the IMO model ZHR(λ) = ZHRmax · 10^(−B·|λ − λmax|). For each night the radiant altitude and the Sun and Moon are computed every 20 minutes; the hour with the highest expected count is shown.