Orionids
Active 10-02 – 11-07; peaks ~2026-10-21.
- Typical peak
- 2026-10-21
- ZHR
- 20
- Radiant
- Orion
- Active period
- 10-02 → 11-07
Moon at peak (2026-10-21)
Waxing Gibbous · 72% illuminated.
Poor — gibbous moonlight will hide most fainter meteors. Watch for the brightest fireballs only.
Observing tips
- Best viewed from a dark site with no moonlight after midnight, when the radiant in Orionclimbs higher and Earth's orbital motion sweeps the leading edge through the meteor stream.
- Lie flat looking ~50° from the radiant — meteors with longer tails appear at this angle than directly at the radiant point.
- ZHR 20is a theoretical maximum: clear sky, radiant overhead, no light pollution. Real-world rates at most observers' latitudes are typically 30-60% of ZHR.
- Allow your eyes 20+ minutes to adapt to darkness; avoid looking at phone screens during the session.
What is ZHR?
Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) is the number of meteors a single observer would see in one hour under perfect conditions: a moonless, cloudless sky with the radiant directly overhead and a limiting magnitude of +6.5. It is a normalisation, not a forecast. Observers at lower radiant altitude or under any light pollution will see substantially fewer meteors than the published ZHR suggests.
Other showers active near this peak
- Draconids · peaks 10/8, ZHR 10
Source: Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA). Moon phase computed locally via astronomy-engine.