Tonight’s Orionid Meteors Are Halley’s Comet Dust

The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 21-22. Each meteor is a grain of dust shed by Halley’s Comet, and it hits Earth’s atmosphere at 66 kilometers per second (41 miles per second). That speed makes the meteors fast and bright.

Earth crosses the dust trail Halley left behind twice a year: the Orionids come in October and the Eta Aquariids in May. This year a waxing gibbous Moon, about 80% lit, sets around 2 to 3 a.m. local time, so the darkest sky comes in the hours before dawn. Expect 10 to 20 meteors an hour from a dark site. The meteors seem to radiate from near Orion’s club, which gives the shower its name.