Meteors of the Orionid meteor shower in the sky over northern Lebanon on Oct. 3, 2021 (Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP via Getty Images); (Inset) Halley’s Comet on Jan. 20, 1986. Space Frontiers/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
When it reaches its peak later this month, a shower of unusually swift meteors will be observable streaking through dark and moonless skies—ideal lighting conditions for meteor spotting.
The Orionids, a meteor shower named after the constellation Orion where they seem to come from but don’t, will have no moonlight to contend with when they reach their thickest on Oct. 21. The new moon occurs the very same day, offering stargazers optimal darkness.
