Orionids 2026: meteor shower peaks on the night of 21 to 22 October
Dust from Halley's Comet, travelling at 66 kilometres a second. The Moon gets in the way this year, but the hours before dawn are still worth it.
Once a year the Earth passes through the dust that Halley’s Comet has left along its orbit. What falls into the atmosphere shows up as meteors, and because they seem to come from the direction of Orion they are called the Orionids. This year the night to watch is 21 to 22 October.
What is happening in the sky
In 2026 the Orionids are active from 2 October to 7 November. They peak on the night of 21 to 22 October. Under dark skies you can expect about 10 to 20 meteors an hour, according to NASA. The American Meteor Society gives the same figure for a normal year and notes that there have been exceptional years with 50 to 75 an hour, most recently from 2006 to 2009.
The particles come from comet 1P/Halley and hit the atmosphere at 66 kilometres a second. That is why Orionids are fast and bright. Some leave a glowing train that lingers for seconds or even minutes. The point they seem to come from lies just north of Betelgeuse, the reddish shoulder star of Orion.
When you will see the most
NASA recommends the hours after midnight, far away from city lights and street lamps. Lie on your back, give your eyes half an hour to adapt, and do not look straight at Orion but 45 to 90 degrees away from it. The trails look longer there.
This year a waxing Moon is in the sky. By our calculation it is about four fifths lit on the night to 22 October. The American Meteor Society therefore expects significant interference while the Moon is above the horizon. You will still see the brighter meteors, and the darkest hours are the last ones before dawn, when the Moon is low or has already set.
What else the sky is doing
The Moon is in Pisces that night. The Sun is at the end of Libra and moves into Scorpio on 23 October. Venus stays retrograde until 14 November, and what that means is explained in Venus retrograde 2026. On 24 October Mercury turns retrograde as well. Two days later, on 26 October, comes the full moon in Taurus.
And astrologically?
To be honest: meteors have no fixed meaning in astrology. They appear in no horoscope, and anyone who tells you otherwise is making it up. Wishing on a shooting star is folk belief, far older than any horoscope.
I like the custom anyway. A wish you can say in the two seconds a meteor lasts is one you really know. And a Moon in Pisces is, by the old reading, a good night for it: quiet, turned inward, with no audience.
Sources
Sky data is calculated with an ephemeris or taken from the sources listed. The interpretation is astrological tradition and meant as entertainment.