Orionid Meteor Shower to Peak in the Night Sky Late October—Here’s How You Can Catch the Light Show

Orionid Meteor Shower to Peak in the Night Sky Late October—Here’s How You Can Catch the Light Show
Bill Ingalls/ NASA via Getty Images
Michael Wing
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It was 1986 when the last casual observer spotted Halley’s Comet shedding its detritus throughout the heavens, far above the Earth. But every year around late October, Earth passes through that trail of space dust and debris left in the comet’s wake, causing bits of cosmic matter to strike our atmosphere, burn up, and become a splendid meteor shower.

As it appears to emanate from north of the constellation Orion, this particular meteor shower was called the Orionids. They will peak this year on Oct. 21, but you can catch them until Nov. 22, as Earth traverses that trail of space dust and debris. With the crescent moon now waning (the new moon falls Oct. 25), creating ample darkness, conditions are ripe for stargazers to catch a glimpse of the Orionids.

How to Spot the Orionids

The meteor shower will be visible in the hours after midnight until dawn—that’s true for every time zone. They can be viewed from both the northern and southern hemispheres, according to NASA. Would-be meteor-gazers should find a spot well away from city street lights. Grab a blanket and lay back in a sleeping bag or lawn chair to take in as much of the sky as possible. Those north of the equator should face southeast, toward the constellation Orion, while those south of the equator should face northeast. In under 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes should adjust, and you will begin to spot meteors. Be patient. There will be plenty of time to catch a glimpse of shooting stars.

The point from which meteors appear to shoot from is called their radiant. In the case of the Orionids, the radiant is located just north of Orion’s bright star, Betelgeuse. One need not look here for meteors, however, as they can appear anywhere across the sky, shooting outward in all directions. It’s wise to look 45 to 90 degrees from the radiant for optimal visibility.

Meteors of the Orionid meteor shower streak over the mountainous area of Tannourine in northern Lebanon, on October 3, 2021. (Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images)
Meteors of the Orionid meteor shower streak over the mountainous area of Tannourine in northern Lebanon, on October 3, 2021. Photo by IBRAHIM CHALHOUB/AFP via Getty Images
During moonless nights, one can spot as many as 15 to 20 meteors per hour, traveling at blistering speeds of 41 miles (66 kilometers) per second. That’s fast, but these shooting stars often leave trails of incandescent gas, called persistent trains, which make them easier to spot. Sometimes, Orionid meteors explode upon entry into the atmosphere, causing what are aptly called fireballs.

The Orionids’ Parent: Halley’s Comet

Comets essentially are amalgams of frozen gas and space dust hurtling through the cosmos, scattering trails of debris in their wake which form into a vast complex of matter. This can sometimes stretch distances measured in millions of miles. The nucleus of Halley’s Comet consists of a roughly 16 x 8 x 8-kilometer hunk traveling in a retrograde orbit around the sun—meaning it orbits the opposite direction as Earth’s orbit.
Halley's Comet on Jan. 20, 1986. (Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Halley's Comet on Jan. 20, 1986. Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Orionid meteors appear every year when Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet. (NASA/JPL)
Orionid meteors appear every year when Earth travels through an area of space littered with debris from Halley’s Comet. NASA/JPL

Halley’s Comet is actually the parent of two distinct meteor showers in our solar system. The trail of debris left from the comet’s inbound approach toward the sun is where the Orionids come from. The remnants of Halley’s outbound departure cause the Eta Aquarid meteor shower when Earth passes through that region of space every year in May.

Halley’s Comet orbits the sun once every 76 years. Unlike other comets, it wasn’t named after its discoverer; rather, in 1705, a man named Edmond Halley observed that three previous comets appeared every 76 years, and he suggested that these sightings were all, in fact, the same comet. The comet then returned when he predicted it would, and it was named in his honor. Halley’s Comet is perhaps the most famous comet in history, and has been sighted for millennia. It appears in the Bayeux Tapestry, which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The last time Halley’s Comet was casually sighted from Earth was in 1986. Now, we will have to wait until 2061 for the famed comet’s return.

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Michael Wing
Michael Wing
Editor and Writer
Michael Wing is a writer and editor based in Calgary, Canada, where he was born and educated in the arts. He writes mainly on culture, human interest, and trending news.
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