These meteors are actually debris left behind by the Halley\u2019s Comet<\/a> as it orbits the sun. While the comet itself is currently far away and not visible to us, Earth’s passage through the trail of dust it leaves behind\u00a0creates a light show in our skies every October.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seth McGowan\u2014president at\u00a0Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory based in New York, and a NASA Solar System Ambassador\u2014told Newsweek that the Halley’s Comet last passed the Earth in 1986 and is due to return in July 2061. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It was first discovered by English Astronomer Edmund Halley, who was also the first to calculate its orbit and predicted its return (which takes place approximately every 76 years.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Orionids are\u00a0known to be extremely fast meteors, plummeting into Earth\u2019s atmosphere at sime 147,600 miles per hour.<\/p>\n This year the Orionid meteor shower is active from October 2 to November\u00a07, peaking in the early hours of\u00a0October 22\u00a0between midnight and dawn. \u00a0<\/p>\n However, do not worry if you miss it on the day\u2014meteors should be for several days on either side of this ‘maximum.’\u00a0<\/p>\n Luckily this year\u2019s peak falls on a new moon, providing darker skies, that should offer ideal conditions for spotting meteors.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Orionids are not the year\u2019s strongest shower\u2014and may not produce the richest displays\u2014they do leave behind trains, or ionized gas trails, that linger for a few seconds after the meteor has gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n From a\u00a0dark location\u00a0you should expect to see about 10 to 20 Orionids per hour at their peak. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1902962146-1.jpg\"\/)
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