Orionid Meteor shower tonight: When, where and how to watch it at its peak

This year, the Orionid Meteor shower will peak on Tuesday, October 21. This annual meteor shower will reportedly maintain its peak till Thursday, October 23.

Since the peak of the 2025 Orionid Meteor Shower coincides with moonless nights, it makes for one of the best skygazing opportunities of the year.

Orionid activity begins in early October, but it’s not until mid-month that Earth encounters the densest part of the stream. The shower is typically of medium strength, producing 15–20 meteors per hour at maximum under dark skies.

On rare occasions, rates have tripled; however, such enhanced activity is not expected this year.

Skygazers in the Southern Hemisphere can also enjoy the Orionids, though the radiant appears lower in their northern sky.

From dark rural locations, observers could see up to 20 swift Orionid meteors per hour during the maximum activity predicted to occur on the mornings of October 21-23.

Orionid meteors will not appear until after 10:00 PM local summer time, when their radiant, the point in the sky from which they appear to originate, rises above the eastern horizon. The best viewing happens when the radiant climbs higher than 30° above the horizon — 1 AM EST.

Look about halfway up from the horizon for the best view; more more meteors can be seen in this part of the sky than directly overhead.

Besides the Orionids, you might notice a few slower Taurid meteors, or swift ones from Gemini and Leo Minor, each contributing only a couple of meteors per hour.

Random “sporadic” meteors, unrelated to any specific shower, typically number around 10 per hour at this time of year.