Orionids

These remnants of Halley’s Comet, like their May Eta Aquarids cousins, intercept the Earth's orbit nearly head-on at 41.6 miles per second, so they are very fast as they blaze across the sky. The meteors appear to radiate from a point in the sky beneath the feet of Gemini (the Twins) and above the head of Orion (the Hunter). The radiant is not far from the red super giant star Betelgeuse, which marks Orion’s right shoulder. Remember, Orion is facing you.

The Orionids are best observed between midnight and dawn when Orion will be at his highest point in the sky. (For reference, at approximately 3:30 am, Orion will be due south of your location and about halfway up off the southern horizon.)

In a dark sky an observer can expect up to about 20 yellow and green meteors per hour during peak. The Orionids are also noted for producing fireballs that create persistent dust trains high in the atmosphere.