The Orionid meteor shower reaches its annual peak activity during the night of Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and the morning of Thursday, when the Earth passes through an area of its orbit where dust particles left behind by Halley's Comet during its repeated journeys around the sun are scattered.
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According to the International Meteor Organization's calendar, the expected hourly azimuth rate for the shower is about 20 meteors per hour, a rate calculated for ideal observing conditions, not a guaranteed number for every person looking at the sky.
The Orionid meteor shower can be seen from both the northern and southern hemispheres, and the chances of observing it are best after midnight until near dawn, when the constellation Orion rises above the horizon and the possibility of seeing meteors seemingly launched from its direction increases.
The Orionid meteor shower is characterized by its high speed, which is about 66 kilometers per second, making it a fast shower, and some of them may leave bright streaks that last for moments after the meteor disappears.
Interestingly, these meteors are associated with Halley's Comet, which completed its last visit to the vicinity of the sun in 1986, 40 years ago, and will not return to Earth's skies for its next visit until 2061. However, the effects of its passage still appear in our skies twice a year.
One comet and two meteor showers
Halley's Comet is associated with two well-known annual meteor showers: the first is the Eta Aquariids, which is active in April and May, usually peaking on May 5 or 6, and the second is the Orionids, which is active in October and extends into early November.
This happens because the comet, which takes about 76 years to complete an orbit around the sun, leaves behind in its orbit quantities of dust and small particles. These grains spread out along its path and remain in space even after the comet itself has moved away.
During the Earth's rotation around the sun, it passes near different parts of this dust stream at two times of the year. The particles enter the atmosphere at tremendous speeds and glow as a result of their collision with air molecules and heating the surrounding gas, appearing as lines of light that we call meteors.
Therefore, the appearance of the Orionid meteor shower does not mean that Halley's Comet is currently near Earth, but rather that our planet is passing through ancient trails left by the comet on previous journeys.
The two showers have different names because the meteors appear to originate from two different regions of the sky. In May, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower appears to originate from near the constellation Aquarius, while in October, the Eta Aquarids appear to originate from the direction of the constellation Orion.
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