Orionid Meteor Shower: Dates, Best Time in India and the Halley’s Comet Link
Everything about the Orionids in one place: when the shower is active, how to watch it from Indian cities, what 2026 looked like, what to expect in 2027, and the next meteor showers you can catch from your city.
Orionid meteor shower statusThe Orionids are active every year from about 2 October to 7 November and peak on the night of 21–22 October.
The Orionid meteor shower is one of the year’s most reliable shooting-star displays, and it comes from the most famous comet of all, Halley’s Comet. Every October, Earth passes through a stream of dust that Halley has left along its orbit, and those specks burn up in our atmosphere as fast, bright streaks. You don’t need a telescope, an app or any special kit, just a dark patch of sky and a little patience after midnight.
Best time to see the next meteor shower from your city
The Orionids for 2026 have peaked, but the sky is not done. Pick your city and a shower to see your best viewing window: the hours when the sky is fully dark, the shower’s radiant is well up and the Moon is out of the way.
Times are in IST, worked out for each city with standard astronomical formulas. “Dark” means the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon, the radiant is at least 20° up and the Moon has set (or is a thin crescent). Clouds, haze and city lights will cut the numbers you actually see.
What is the Orionid meteor shower?
A meteor shower happens when Earth ploughs through a trail of debris left by a comet. The Orionids come from Comet 1P/Halley, which swings around the Sun about every 76 years. Each pass sheds dust and ice. Over centuries that debris has spread all along Halley’s orbit, and Earth crosses it twice a year: in May (the Eta Aquariids) and in October (the Orionids).
The particles are mostly the size of a grain of sand. They hit our atmosphere at about 66 km per second, roughly 2,40,000 km/h, and burn up 80–120 km above the ground. That speed is why Orionids are quick, often bright and sometimes leave a glowing “train” that lingers for a second or two after the meteor has gone. Now and then a larger piece produces a fireball, a meteor brighter than Venus.
The shower is named after the constellation Orion, because the meteors appear to fly out of a point (the radiant) near Orion’s raised club, just north of the bright orange star Betelgeuse. That is a perspective effect: the meteors are not coming from Orion, they just all travel in parallel paths that seem to meet there, like railway lines meeting at the horizon.
☄️ Halley’s Comet
Last seen from Earth in 1986. Its next visit to the inner solar system is in 2061. Until then, the Orionids and Eta Aquariids are the only way to “see” Halley.
🌍 Visible across India
Orion rises in the east around 10 PM in late October and is high by 3 AM, so every Indian city, from Leh to Thiruvananthapuram, gets a good view.
Orionid meteor shower 2026: how the peak went in India
In 2026 the Orionids peaked on the night of Wednesday 21 to Thursday 22 October. A bright waxing Moon, about 78% lit, washed out the evening sky, so the real dark window across India was after moonset, roughly 2 AM to 5 AM IST. In Delhi that window ran from about 2:20 AM to 5:05 AM, in Mumbai from 2:50 AM and in Kolkata from about 1:40 AM. Under a dark rural sky, watchers could expect 10–20 meteors an hour; from cities, more like 3–6.
The shower doesn’t switch off after the peak. Orionids keep trickling in until about 7 November, at a few an hour, and the Moon is waning towards new moon on 9 November, so the last nights of the shower have darker skies than the peak did.
Orionids 2027: dates and what to expect
The Orionids return on the same dates every year, because Earth reaches the same point in its orbit. In 2027 the shower will again be active from about 2 October to 7 November, with the peak on the night of 21–22 October 2027.
The Moon won’t help: it is full on 15 October 2027 and still about 60% lit on the peak night, rising late in the evening and staying up through the best hours. The best plan for 2027 is to watch between about midnight and 5 AM anyway, with the Moon behind you or hidden behind a building or tree, and to look at the darker part of the sky away from it. Bright Orionids still show up well in moonlight.
How to watch the Orionid meteor shower: 7 simple steps
- Pick the right hours. After midnight is best, when Orion is high and your side of Earth faces into the debris stream. 2 AM to dawn is the sweet spot.
- Get away from lights. A rooftop helps, but a field, beach or hill outside town is far better. Even 20–30 km outside a city can double what you see.
- Check the weather and AQI. Cloud and smog hide faint meteors. In north India in late October, haze from stubble burning can be the biggest problem, so a clear, breezy night is worth waiting for.
- Let your eyes adapt. Give it 20–30 minutes without looking at your phone. If you must use it, turn on night mode or red-light mode and lower the brightness.
- Lie back and look up. Use a mat or reclining chair. Face east or south and take in as much sky as you can.
- Don’t stare at Orion. Meteors appear anywhere. The longest, prettiest trails often show up 40–60° away from the radiant.
- Skip the telescope. Binoculars and telescopes show a tiny patch of sky. Your eyes are the best tool here.
Where to look
Orion is easy to find: look for three bright stars in a short, straight row (Orion’s Belt). The radiant sits above them, near orange Betelgeuse. Trace any streak backwards: if it points back to that area, it’s an Orionid.
Best places in India to watch meteor showers
The darker the sky, the more you see. A few places in India are known for their exceptionally dark skies:
- Hanle, Ladakh: India’s first dark sky reserve, home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory. High, dry and almost free of light pollution.
- Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh: villages like Kaza, Langza and Komic sit above 4,000 m with very clear winter skies.
- Rann of Kutch, Gujarat: flat white desert with a wide, open horizon, best from November.
- Thar desert near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan: dune camps outside the town have dark skies and dry air.
- Hill stations and coasts away from towns: Coorg, Chikmagalur, the Nilgiris, the Konkan coast or any farmland 30+ km from a city.
If you can’t travel, the darkest corner of a rooftop with streetlights blocked by a wall still works for the brighter meteors.
How to photograph meteors with your phone or camera
📱 Phone
Use a tripod or prop the phone on something steady. Turn on Night mode or Pro mode with a 10–30 second exposure, lowest zoom (wide lens) and manual focus on infinity. Take continuous shots for 30–60 minutes; most frames will be empty, a few will catch a streak.
📷 Camera
Widest lens you have (14–24 mm), aperture f/2.8 or wider, ISO 1600–3200, 15–25 second exposures, focus on a bright star. Use an intervalometer to shoot non-stop, and point about 45° away from the radiant to catch longer trails.
Meteor shower calendar 2026–27 for India
| Shower | Active | Peak night | Rate (dark sky) | Moon at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orionids | 2 Oct – 7 Nov | 21–22 Oct 2026 | 10–20 / hr | 78%, sets ~2 AM |
| Southern Taurids | 20 Sep – 20 Nov | 4–5 Nov 2026 | ~5 / hr, slow fireballs | ~25%, rises late |
| Northern Taurids | 20 Oct – 10 Dec | 11–12 Nov 2026 | ~5 / hr, slow fireballs | ~5%, very dark |
| Leonids | 6 – 30 Nov | 16–17 Nov 2026 | 10–15 / hr | ~40%, sets around midnight |
| Geminids | 4 – 17 Dec | 13–14 Dec 2026 | up to 100+ / hr | ~15%, sets early |
| Ursids | 17 – 26 Dec | 21–22 Dec 2026 | 5–10 / hr | ~90%, bright |
| Quadrantids | 28 Dec – 12 Jan | 3–4 Jan 2027 | ~25 / hr | ~18% |
| Orionids | 2 Oct – 7 Nov | 21–22 Oct 2027 | 10–20 / hr | ~60%, up most of the night |
The pick of the coming season is the Geminids on 13–14 December 2026: the richest shower of the year, with a slim Moon that sets in the evening, and its radiant is up from about 9 PM, so you don’t even need to stay up all night.
Orionid meteor shower FAQs
When is the Orionid meteor shower in 2026?
The Orionids are active from about 2 October to 7 November 2026. They peaked on the night of 21–22 October 2026, with the best viewing in India from about 2 AM to 5 AM IST after the Moon set.
Can I still see the Orionids now?
Yes, until about 7 November, but only a few an hour. The darkest nights left are 3–7 November, between late evening and the time the waning Moon rises. Use the city tool above for your exact window.
When is the next Orionid meteor shower?
The next Orionid peak is the night of 21–22 October 2027. The shower will be active from about 2 October to 7 November 2027.
Can I see the Orionid meteor shower from Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru?
Yes, Orion rises over all of India. From a city you will see only the brighter meteors, perhaps 3–6 an hour at the peak. Driving 30 km or more away from city lights makes a big difference.
Are the Orionids really from Halley’s Comet?
Yes. The Orionids are dust shed by Comet 1P/Halley on its earlier passes around the Sun. The same debris stream gives the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in early May.
When will Halley’s Comet be visible again?
Halley’s Comet last came close in 1986 and will next return to the inner solar system in 2061. Until then the Orionids and Eta Aquariids are pieces of it you can see every year.
Do I need a telescope or binoculars to see meteors?
No. Meteors cross large parts of the sky in a second or less, so the naked eye is best. Telescopes and binoculars show too small an area to catch them.
Is a meteor shower dangerous?
No. Shower meteors are tiny grains that burn up completely 80–120 km above the ground. Nothing from the Orionids reaches the surface.
Looking for more things to do this season? See our holiday list for 2026 to plan a long-weekend trip to a dark-sky spot.
Sources
NASA: Orionids · American Meteor Society meteor shower calendar · International Meteor Organization calendar · Star Walk: Orionids
Viewing windows and Moon figures calculated by WellthRise for each city using standard ephemeris formulas. Updated 31 October 2026 by the WellthRise Editorial Team.
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