Orionid meteor shower 2026: How and when to see it this week

As tiny particles from the comet enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they heat up and produce streaks of light across the night sky that we see as meteors.

The Orionids are particularly fast, entering the atmosphere at around 41 miles per second and can leave glowing trails which remain visible for several seconds.

Halley’s Comet is one of the most famous comets in our Solar System and has been observed from Earth for centuries. It takes around 76 years to complete one orbit of the Sun and was last seen from Earth in 1986.

But while the comet itself is a rare visitor, the Earth encounters material left behind by it twice a year, resulting in the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in May and the Orionids in October.