Orionid meteor shower peaks this weekend: How to get the best views

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The Orionid meteor shower will peak this weekend. Here's when to get the best view.

View of night sky with falling meteors.
The Orionids are caused by the dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Halley's comet. (Image credit: Mika Wist / 500px / Getty Images)

The Orionid meteor shower will peak this weekend as Earth bursts through a field of dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Halley's comet.

Although the Orionids are active from Sept. 26 through Nov. 22, the best time to watch will be in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 21, when around 23 "shooting stars" are expected per hour, according to the American Meteor Society. The precise peak is at 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT), with shooting stars from this medium-intensity shower striking Earth's atmosphere at a swift 41 miles per second (66 kilometers per second), or around 148,000 mph (238,000 km/h).

Now beyond Neptune, Halley's comet orbits the sun roughly every 76 years, making it the only known naked-eye comet that can theoretically be seen twice in one human lifetime. Next, it will loop around the sun, passing close to Earth in 2061. This November and December, the giant comet will reach aphelion, its farthest point from the sun, before it begins its return trip to the inner solar system, according to EarthSky.

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Jamie Carter
Jamie Carter
Live Science contributor

Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science journalist and a regular contributor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads international stargazing and eclipse-chasing tours. His work appears regularly in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope, and other major science and astronomy publications. He is also the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.