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The Orionid meteor shower is expected to impress skywatchers on the night of Monday, October 20 to Tuesday, October 21. With a new moon on October 21, the night sky will be completely free of moonlight, providing some of the best viewing conditions in years – although viewing under dark, rural skies is recommended. That doubles this year, as comets Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and SWAN (C/2025 R2) may be visible, and an aurora display for the northern U.S. states is also a possibility.
Sheep under shimmering Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) on the North Sea dike near Hagermarsch (Lower Saxony) in East Frisia on 13.08.2024. (Photo by Matthias Balk/photo alliance via Getty Images)
Alliance dpa/photo via Getty Images
Key facts
The Orionids are caused by dust and debris thrown up by Halley’s Comet, which orbits the sun every 76 years. The comet itself will not return until 2061.
Earth passes through the dusty Halley Trail every October, with dozens of bright meteors resulting from particles thrown into the atmosphere at high speeds. Observers under clear, dark rural skies can expect about 20 meteors per hour during the peak.
The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Orion, near the bright red star Betelgeuse, but can pass through any part of the sky. Orion rises in the east in the late evening and peaks around 2 a.m., making the early morning hours ideal for viewing.
Comets Lemmon (C/2025 A6) and SWAN (C/2025 R2) are currently visible through binoculars in the northwest and southwest evening skies, respectively, after dark, as a prelude to the meteor shower.
There is also a good chance that the Northern Lights will appear at nightfall in the northern states of the United States, following strong solar activity over the past week.
Will two comets be visible?
This year’s peak may come with a rare bonus, with comets Lemmon and SWAN best observed during a 30-minute window starting about 90 minutes after sunset. If they light up enough, they might be visible to the naked eye from the dark skies of rural areas, but more likely with binoculars. The positions of comets in the night sky will change significantly from night to night, so check my feed each day for a daily “comet tracker” with search maps and tips for observing from mid-northern latitudes.
How to observe a meteor shower
You don’t need anything other than your naked eyes to observe a meteor shower. In fact, if you have binoculars or a telescope, use them only for comets, as this will only restrict your vision and make viewing meteors almost impossible. For meteors, the darker the sky, the better. According to NASA, head at least 20 to 30 miles from the city limits to escape light pollution and give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Orion will rise after midnight, with the early hours of October 22 likely to see the greatest number of “shooting stars.”
High probability of Northern Lights
There is a good chance that the Northern Lights will be visible in the northern states of the United States and Canada on Monday, October 20. Geomagnetic activity has been high for several nights after two coronal mass ejections headed toward Earth from the sun’s surface. Watch NOAA’s latest northern lights sightlines to find out where the northern lights may be visible in the northern sky, with states likely including Alaska and (in northern parts of) Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Maine.
Check my feed every day this month for a daily “comet tracker” with search maps and tips for observing Comet Lemmon and Comet SWAN from mid-northern latitudes. Read also How to photograph green comets, Best Stargazing Apps to Find Comets And 25 dark sky parks in the United States to observe comets.
