{"id":878140,"date":"2026-10-11T03:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T03:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/878140\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T03:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T03:18:25","slug":"octobers-meteor-show-returns-how-to-catch-the-orionids-peak-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/878140\/","title":{"rendered":"October\u2019s Meteor Show Returns: How To Catch The Orionids&#8217; Peak Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Orionids peak overnight Wednesday, Oct. 21, into Thursday, Oct. 22, <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/meteors-meteorites\/orionids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NASA says.<\/a> Known for their speed and brightness, the meteors can leave glowing trails and occasionally produce brilliant fireballs.<\/p>\n<p>The shower typically delivers about 10 to 20 meteors per hour under dark skies. This year, however, moonlight will make some of the fainter streaks harder to spot.<\/p>\n<p>A waxing gibbous moon will brighten the sky during part of the peak night, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetary.org\/articles\/your-guide-meteor-shower\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">according to The Planetary Society<\/a>. Viewing should improve after the moon sets, before dawn.<\/p>\n<p>NASA recommends watching after midnight from somewhere well away from city lights and streetlights. Check local moonset times when planning your outing, since the darkest viewing window depends on your location.<\/p>\n<p>No telescope or binoculars are needed. Bring a blanket or reclining chair, get comfortable, and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness.<\/p>\n<p>Take in a broad stretch of sky rather than concentrating on one small patch.<\/p>\n<p>The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Orion, which gives the shower its name. But they can streak across the sky, and NASA says those viewed farther from that apparent starting point can look longer.<\/p>\n<p>The particles themselves come from Halley\u2019s Comet. Earth passes through debris the comet left behind, producing bright streaks as the material enters the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>Orionid meteors travel about 41 miles per second. Their glowing trails can linger for several seconds to minutes after the meteor itself disappears.<\/p>\n<p>Halley\u2019s Comet last visited the inner solar system in 1986 and will return in 2061. Its leftover debris fuels this annual show long before the comet returns.<\/p>\n<p>The shower began Friday, Oct. 2, and remains active through Saturday, Nov. 7. Meteors can appear outside the peak, though activity is generally lower.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"e-embedded-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NASA.JPL.Orionids.png\"\/>&#8221; data-original_data=&#8221;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&#8221; data-photo-id=&#8221;3357008&#8243; data-preview_url=&#8221;https:\/\/edge.dailyvoice.com\/upload\/NASA.JPL.Orionids.png?width=350&amp;height=350&#8243; data-testid=&#8221;article-embedded-element&#8221; js-embedded=&#8221;&#8221; js-module=&#8221;DeferUntilLCP&#8221;&gt;<\/p>\n<p>For the best chance of spotting them, prioritize a clear sky, minimal artificial light, and the hours after moonset. The advertised hourly rate is no guarantee of what any individual viewer will see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orionids peak overnight Wednesday, Oct. 21, into Thursday, Oct. 22, NASA says. Known for their speed and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":878141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-878140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}