Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Oct. 21-22, 2026: Best Time to Watch Before the Hunter's Moon

The Orionid meteor shower, made of dust from Halley’s Comet, reaches its peak the night of Wednesday, Oct. 21 into Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. Under a dark sky you may see up to about 20 meteors an hour, but this year a bright moon lights up much of the night. The darkest stretch comes after the moon sets and before dawn, which is when to go out.

The 2026 peak at a glance

Detail	2026
Active period	Oct. 2 to Nov. 7
Peak night	Oct. 21-22 (predicted maximum around 18:00 UTC on Oct. 21)
Zenithal hourly rate	20 (American Meteor Society)
Realistic count, dark rural sky	About 10 to 20 an hour
Realistic count, suburbs	About 3 to 6 an hour (NASA)
Speed	About 41 miles (66 km) per second
Parent body	Comet 1P/Halley
Moon on peak night	Waxing gibbous, roughly three-quarters lit

The Orionids have a broad maximum, so the mornings of Oct. 20, 21, 22 and 23 can all produce similar rates. If clouds cover the peak night, try the morning before or after.

Why the moon matters this year

The moon reaches full on Oct. 26, so during peak week it is a bright waxing gibbous, about 74% to 80% lit depending on the night. It is up through the evening and sets a few hours before dawn. Moonlight hides the fainter meteors, which make up most of any shower.

That leaves a short, useful window. Once the moon has set, the sky is dark until morning twilight begins, and the shower’s radiant in Orion is high in the southeast to south. NASA and the American Meteor Society both point to the hours before dawn as the best time this year.

How to watch

1. Find a dark spot away from streetlights, with a wide view of the sky.
2. Check when the moon sets for your location and plan to be outside from then until dawn begins to brighten the east.
3. Lie back and look at a wide area of the sky, about halfway up. Meteors can appear anywhere; they are often easier to see 30 to 40 degrees away from the radiant.
4. Give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust, and avoid looking at your phone screen.
5. Dress warmly. Late October mornings are cold in much of North America.

Orionids are fast and often leave a glowing trail, called a train, that lingers for a second or two. Bright fireballs are possible.

Where they come from

Halley’s Comet sheds ice and dust each time it passes the sun. Earth crosses that stream of debris twice a year: in October, producing the Orionids, and in early May, producing the Eta Aquariids. The meteors seem to come from a point near the raised club of the constellation Orion, north of the reddish star Betelgeuse, which is how the shower got its name. Halley itself was last near the sun in 1986 and is expected back in 2061.

The Hunter’s Moon follows on Oct. 26

October’s full moon, traditionally called the Hunter’s Moon, is full at 04:12 UTC on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. In U.S. time zones that is:

Time zone	Moment of full moon
Eastern	12:12 a.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 26
Central	11:12 p.m. CDT, Sunday, Oct. 25
Mountain	10:12 p.m. MDT, Sunday, Oct. 25
Pacific	9:12 p.m. PDT, Sunday, Oct. 25

The moon looks full on both the evening of Oct. 25 and Oct. 26, rising in the east around sunset.

Other sky dates this autumn

Date	Event
Night of Oct. 21-22	Orionid meteor shower peak
Oct. 26	Full Hunter’s Moon
Nov. 1	Daylight saving time ends in the U.S.; evenings get dark an hour earlier by the clock

If you want the clock change and the full moon on the same page, our November 2026 printable calendar and the daylight saving time story have the dates.