Halley's other shower, and the fast one.
The same comet as May, met head-on: Orionids come in at about 41 miles a second, near the top of the range for meteors, which is why so many of them leave a train hanging in the air for a second afterwards.
The radiant rises everywhere north of 74°S. From mid-northern latitudes (40°N) it climbs to about 66°. From mid-southern latitudes (35°S) it climbs to about 39° before dawn.
The height is the radiant's, the point the meteors seem to come from, on the peak night, counting only the hours when the Sun is at least 12° below the horizon. The lower it is, the fewer meteors reach you: at 30° up you would see about half the rate above, before the Moon and your own sky take their share.
| Maximum | Moon | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| 22 October 2026 | Waxing Gibbous, 80% | A bright Moon up for most of the night. Expect the brightest meteors only. |
| 22 October 2027 | Last Quarter, 58% | Half-lit and rising around midnight, straight into the best hours. |
| 22 October 2028 | Waxing Crescent, 19% | A crescent that sets in the evening, well before the shower's best hours. |
| 22 October 2029 | Full Moon, 100% | A bright Moon up for most of the night. Expect the brightest meteors only. |
The Moon is taken at 00:00 UTC on the morning of maximum. Whether it is actually above your horizon at three in the morning depends on where you are standing — the live calendar works that out for your own location. Showers are almost all better after midnight, when your side of the planet turns to face the direction of travel and starts sweeping meteors up instead of waiting to be caught.
Nothing. Meteors cross too much sky too fast for binoculars or a telescope to be anything but a handicap — the equipment for this is a coat, a chair that tips back, and twenty minutes for your eyes to adapt. Look up and slightly away from the radiant rather than straight at it; meteors near the radiant are coming at you end-on and leave the shortest trails.
Peak night and rate: International Meteor Organization, Meteor Shower Calendar (opens in a new tab). Moon phases computed here.