Orionid meteor shower to streak across night sky this week

Two meteors streak thorugh a star-strewn night sky, with the silhouettes of trees to the left and right

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

The Orionid meteor shower observed in the night sky above China on October 22, 2025

ByEmily WoodBBC Weather

Published27 minutes ago

One of the best-known meteor showers of the year is returning to our skies this week, as the Earth passes through debris left behind by Halley's Comet.

The Orionid meteor shower is active from 2 October until 7 November and will peak overnight from 21 to 22 October.

The display occurs at around the same time each year as the Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris left behind by Halley's Comet.

The best time to spot the meteors will be between midnight and dawn, when the sky is at its darkest.

What are the Orionids?

As tiny particles from the comet enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, they heat up and produce streaks of light across the night sky that we see as meteors.

The Orionids are particularly fast, entering the atmosphere at around 41 miles per second and can leave glowing trails which remain visible for several seconds.

Halley's Comet is one of the most famous comets in our Solar System and has been observed from Earth for centuries. It takes around 76 years to complete one orbit of the Sun and was last seen from Earth in 1986.

But while the comet itself is a rare visitor, the Earth encounters material left behind by it twice a year, resulting in the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in May and the Orionids in October.

Halley's Comet appears as an intensely white oval shape with a tail which fades out behind it, moving through a deep black, starry sky.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Halley's Comet is not expected to be visible from Earth again until 2061, but its debris will continue to produce meteor showers each year

Under ideal conditions, around 10 to 20 meteors can be seen each hour at the shower's peak.

The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion, which is where the shower gets its name, but they can appear anywhere across the night sky.

For the best chance of seeing them, find a dark location away from street lights and with as wide a view of the sky as possible.

Allow around 15 to 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust. You won't need binoculars or a telescope; the shower is best viewed with the naked eye.

What is the forecast for the start of the shower?

Viewing prospects will be rather mixed with the best conditions likely to be across southern and eastern parts of England - where there should be long clear spells, albeit with a few areas of cloud drifting across the sky from time-to-time.

In Wales, the Midlands and Northern England it may be more of a struggle to see the meteor shower, with a slow-moving weather front providing cloud and outbreaks of rain.

The rain is likely to turn patchier later in the night with a few cloud breaks likely to develop.

A map of the UK is split into three sections, with Clear spells written over southern parts of the UK, Often cloudy and Some rain over central and northern parts and Some cloud breaks and A few showers over Scotland and Northern Ireland.

For Scotland and Northern Ireland it will be a story of clear periods, patchy cloud and a few showers - and if the gaps between the showers are long enough you should get a view for at least some of the time.

The Moon could also affect how many meteors are visible at the peak of the Orionids later in October, as it will be in its waxing gibbous phase, meaning its light could make some of the fainter meteors more difficult to see.

Brighter meteors however should still be visible, particularly from darker locations away from artificial light.