Orionid meteor shower 2026
The Orionids are active now and peak on the night of 21 to 22 October 2026. From New York the best time that night is about 04:25 EDT, with up to 18 meteors an hour from a dark site.
The peak night around the world
The best time to watch on the peak night in twelve cities, each worked out for that city's own sky, with the meteors an hour you can expect from a dark site and where the Moon is at that time. Times are local.
| Place | Peak night | Best time | Meteors an hourfrom a dark site | Moon then |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LondonUnited Kingdom | 21–22 Oct | 04:35 BST | up to 17 | 82% lit, down |
| New YorkUnited States | 21–22 Oct | 04:25 EDT | up to 18 | 83% lit, down |
| Los AngelesUnited States | 21–22 Oct | 04:25 PDT | up to 18 | 84% lit, down |
| TorontoCanada | 21–22 Oct | 04:55 EDT | up to 17 | 83% lit, down |
| SydneyAustralia | 21–22 Oct | 04:35 AEDT | up to 14 | 78% lit, down |
| DelhiIndia | 21–22 Oct | 04:00 IST | up to 21 | 80% lit, down |
| TokyoJapan | 21–22 Oct | 03:20 JST | up to 21 | 79% lit, down |
| BerlinGermany | 21–22 Oct | 04:40 CEST | up to 17 | 81% lit, down |
| RomeItaly | 21–22 Oct | 04:45 CEST | up to 18 | 81% lit, down |
| JohannesburgSouth Africa | 21–22 Oct | 03:45 SAST | up to 15 | 81% lit, down |
| São PauloBrazil | 21–22 Oct | 03:40 BRT | up to 15 | 83% lit, down |
| DubaiUnited Arab Emirates | 21–22 Oct | 04:00 GST | up to 21 | 80% lit, down |
Peak night in New York, hour by hour
Shower meteors an hour you can expect from a dark site through the peak night, after allowing for the radiant's height, twilight and the Moon. A suburb shows roughly a third to a half of that, a city centre roughly a tenth to a fifth.
Where to look
The Orionid radiant lies in Orion, north-east of the bright red star Betelgeuse. From New York it rises at 22:19, and at the best time on the peak night, 04:25, it is 63° up in the south-south-east. Face that way and look about halfway up.
- Orionids appear anywhere. Near the radiant they are short; far from it they leave long trails. Trace any of them back and it points to Orion.
- Give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt to the dark, and keep your phone on the Meteor Tracker's red-light field mode.
- Lie back on a reclining chair rather than craning your neck. No telescope or binoculars needed.
- Watch for at least half an hour. Meteors come in bursts, with quiet spells in between.
About the Orionids
Every October, Earth runs through the dust left behind by Halley's comet. Grains no bigger than sand hit the air at about 66 km/s, among the fastest of any shower, and burn up about 100 km overhead. Fast meteors are often bright, and many leave a glowing train that hangs in the sky for a second or two.
The radiant sits in the club of Orion, north-east of the red star Betelgeuse. It is close to the celestial equator, so the Orionids can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth. The radiant rises in the late evening and climbs highest in the hours before dawn, which is when the most meteors fall.
Earth crosses the same stream twice a year: in May it gives the Eta Aquariids, in October the Orionids. Halley's comet itself last passed the Sun in 1986 and returns in 2061. The shower is steady from year to year, typically 10 to 20 an hour under a dark sky at the peak, though some years are better: from 2006 to 2009 rates rose well above normal.