Orionids in New York

The Orionids meteor shower peaks from New York around Oct 21, with up to 20 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. In 2026 a bright moon will hide most meteors except the brightest, and from New York the radiant in Orion climbs to 65° above the south horizon around 05:15. Local best viewing window: 00:40–05:40 EDT on the peak night, about 5.0 hours of astronomical darkness. Scaled to that altitude, the 20/hour headline figure works out to roughly 18 meteors an hour from New York under a genuinely dark sky. Tonight: heavy cover, with only occasional breaks.