See the Orionid meteor shower peak this weekend

By Iain Todd

Published: Friday, 21 October 2022 at 12:00 am

The Moon will be thin, waning and largely out of the way for the peak of the Orionid meteor shower, which will see ‘shooting stars’ appear in the night sky as Earth passes through the dust stream left by Halley’s Comet.

The best time to see the 2022 Orionid meteor shower will be late on Friday night – 21 October – and into early Saturday morning – 22 October – just before dawn.

This means if you’ve come back late from a Friday night event, you can end the night by wrapping up warm, turning out all the lights and trying to spot a shooting star from your back garden.

Our chart below reveals the position in the sky from which the Orionid meteors will appear to emanate.

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Chart showing the position of the radiant of the Orionid meteor shower in October 2022. Credit: Pete Lawrence

What is the Orionid meteor shower?

The Orionid meteor shower is one of many annual meteor showers that can be seen at the same time every year, the most notable being the Geminid meteor shower and the Perseid meteor shower.

As the nights are getting darker, the Orionids will be a great stargazing event for beginners and, you may be glad to hear, are best seen with the naked eye.

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An Orionid meteor recorded by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network station on top of Mount Lemmon, Arizona, US on 13 October 2015. Credit: NASA

No telescopes or binoculars are required: just dark skies, warm clothing, a hot drink and good company.

Oh, and a reclining chair is useful too, to help avoid neck cramp brought on by long periods of looking up.

Orionid meteors appear to come from the direction of the constellation Orion – near star Betelgeuse, to be more exact – and can produce good trails, which you should be able to see if you spend at least 30–60 minutes outside, looking up.

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Credit: Pete Lawrence

 

The Orionid meteor shower produces a peak hourly rate of 20 meteors per hour under perfect conditions with the meteor shower radiant – the point in the sky from which the shower trails appear to come from – directly over your head.

For more advice on observing this year’s celestial show, read Pete Lawrence’s fantastic beginner’s guide to observing the Orionid meteor shower, or read our general advice on how to observe a meteor shower.