Each October, Earth passes through the ancient trail of Halley's Comet, and the sky above Thailand fills with brief, burning light. On the night of October 21 into October 22, the Orionid meteor shower will peak at roughly twenty meteors per hour — fragments of a comet that last visited in 1986 and won't return until 2061. It is one of those quiet reminders that the cosmos leaves traces long after its most dramatic moments have passed, and that wonder, for those willing to step away from city lights, remains freely available.
Orionid meteor shower to peak over Thailand October 21-22
Tiny particles burning up at 66 kilometers per second
Mark
So the meteors we'll see—those are actually pieces of Halley's Comet?
Mimi
Fragments of it, yes. Dust and rock left along its orbital path. When Earth passes through that debris trail, the particles enter our atmosphere at enormous speed and burn up.
Luke
And we're certain about that speed—66 kilometers per second?
Mimi
That's what NASA reports. The particles are moving that fast when they hit the atmosphere.
Mark
Why is Orion the name if the meteors come from Halley's Comet?
Mimi
The meteors appear to radiate outward from the constellation Orion—it's where they seem to originate in the sky, even though they're coming from all directions.
Luke
That's perspective, though. They're not actually coming from Orion.
Mimi
Correct. It's the same optical effect as railroad tracks converging in the distance. The radiant point just happens to be in that constellation.
Mark
And you need to get away from city lights to see them properly?
Mimi
The fainter ones especially. Light pollution washes them out. Countryside or natural areas work best.
Luke
How many meteors are we actually talking about? Twenty per hour—is that a guarantee?
Mimi
That's the peak rate under favorable conditions. Clear skies, dark location. Weather permitting, as they say.
Mark
When's the best time to look?
Mimi
Starting around 10:30pm on October 21 and continuing through dawn on October 22.
Der Puls
- Up to twenty meteors per hour will streak across Thai skies on the night of October 21–22, moving at 66 kilometers per second — fast enough to vanish before the eye fully registers them.
- City light pollution threatens to erase the fainter meteors entirely, turning a celestial spectacle into near-invisibility for urban observers.
- NARIT urges Thais to travel to open countryside or natural areas with minimal artificial lighting to catch the shower at its fullest.
- No equipment is needed — telescopes actually narrow the view — making this one of the most accessible astronomical events of the year.
- The Orionids are the visible inheritance of Halley's Comet, which won't reappear until 2061, lending the shower a quiet sense of long cosmic patience.
Each October, Earth passes through the ancient trail of Halley's Comet, and the sky above Thailand fills with brief, burning light. On the night of October 21 into October 22, the Orionid meteor shower will peak at roughly twenty meteors per hour — fragments of a comet that last visited in 1986 and won't return until 2061. It is one of those quiet reminders that the cosmos leaves traces long after its most dramatic moments have passed, and that wonder, for those willing to step away from city lights, remains freely available.
On the night of October 21, after 10:30pm, anyone in Thailand who steps outside and looks up may witness something worth pausing for: bright streaks cutting across the dark sky, arriving at a rate of up to twenty per hour. These are the Orionids, an annual meteor shower produced when Earth crosses the debris trail left by Halley's Comet. The particles — tiny fragments of dust and rock — enter the atmosphere at around 66 kilometers per second, burning up almost instantly from friction with the air and leaving those luminous trails behind.
The shower takes its name from the constellation Orion, where the meteors appear to originate, though this is a trick of perspective rather than a literal source. Orion is easy to find, marked by the red-orange star Betelgeuse and the blue-white Rigel, with Sirius — the brightest star visible from Earth — nearby in Canis Major. NASA considers the Orionids among the year's most beautiful showers, valued for both the brightness and speed of the meteors. No telescope is required; a wide field of vision is far more useful.
Location is the critical variable. Light pollution from cities drowns out the fainter meteors, which make up much of the display. Thailand's National Astronomical Research Institute recommends open countryside or natural areas well away from urban centers — the darker the sky, the richer the experience.
Halley's Comet itself last appeared in 1986 and won't return until 2061. But twice each year, in May and October, Earth's orbit intersects with the trail it left behind. The Orionids are, in that sense, the comet's lingering presence — a reminder that even long-absent things can still leave light in the sky.
On the night of October 21, if you step outside Thailand after 10:30pm and look up, you might catch something rare: streaks of light moving fast across the dark sky, bright enough to stop you mid-breath. These are the Orionids, a meteor shower that arrives each year when Earth passes through the debris trail left behind by Halley's Comet. This year, the peak comes on the night of October 21 into the early morning of October 22, and under clear skies away from city lights, you could see as many as twenty meteors in a single hour.
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand explains what's actually happening: as Earth moves through the orbital path of Halley's Comet, tiny particles of dust and rock—fragments left over from the comet's last passage—enter the atmosphere at tremendous speed. At roughly 66 kilometers per second, these particles are moving so fast that friction with the air causes them to burn up almost instantly, creating those bright streaks. The whole process is visible to the naked eye, and no telescope is needed. In fact, a telescope would only narrow your view. The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, so the wider your field of vision, the better your chances of catching them.
The shower takes its name from the constellation Orion, which is where the meteors appear to originate—though this is an optical illusion caused by perspective, the same way parallel railroad tracks seem to converge in the distance. Orion is one of the easier constellations to spot in the night sky, recognizable by its distinctive shape and marked by the orange-red star Betelgeuse and the blue-white star Rigel. Nearby, you can also find Sirius, the brightest star visible from Earth, sitting in the constellation Canis Major. NASA counts the Orionids among the year's most beautiful meteor showers, prized for both the brightness of the meteors and their speed across the sky.
Timing matters. Viewing can begin around 10:30pm on October 21 and continue through dawn on October 22. But location matters more. The fainter meteors—and there will be many—are invisible from anywhere with significant light pollution. A city's glow washes them out. NARIT recommends heading to open countryside, natural areas with minimal artificial lighting, or anywhere far enough from urban centers that the night sky still looks like night. The darker the location, the more meteors you'll see.
Halley's Comet itself won't return to the inner solar system until 2061, more than three decades away. But its debris keeps circling, and twice each year—during the Eta Aquariids in May and the Orionids in October—Earth's orbit intersects with that trail. The comet last passed through in 1986. For now, these meteor showers are how we see its presence in the sky, a reminder that even when the comet is gone, it leaves something behind.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The Orionids are counted among the year's most beautiful meteor showers, known for their brightness and speed— NASA
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