The Orionids are active every year between the start of October and the first week of November.
In reality, however, you are most likely to only see the shooting stars towards the end of October.
This is because the meteor shower typically peaks every year between October 21 and October 22.
This year the Orionid meteor shower peaks over the night of Sunday, October 21, and the morning hours of Monday, October 22.
What time is the Orionid meteor shower 2018?
Meteor shower peaks are best seen between midnight and dawn, when the skies are at their darkest.
During this year’s peak, astronomers expect anywhere between 20 to 25 meteors an hour.
The Orionids will be visible from anywhere on the planet and are visible dashing in all directions imaginable.
The meteors will appear to radiant from a single point in the constellation Orion – a point known as their radiant.
Depending on your location, the radiant might appear in slightly different parts of the sky at different times.
When viewed from London, the Orionids’ radiant will appear at an altitude below 0.1-degrees from 10pm BST.
By midnight, the radiant will rise to about 17.3-degrees and will continue to rise until about 5am BST when it’s at 53.5-degrees.
From 6am BST onwards, the radiant’s altitude will drop and visibility will diminish as the sun creeps over the horizon.
For the most optimal viewing options, you should always head out after sunset.
In London, the Sun will set at 5.54pm BST on Sunday and rise the following morning at 7.36am BST.
At the same time, you will need to be wary of the Waxing Moon which will be almost fully lit between Sunday and Monday.
The brightly lit glowing orb might limit your visibility somewhat between Sunday and Monday – keep that in mind.
The Moon will rise at 5.12pm BST on Sunday and set by 4,34am BST on Monday.
What is the Orionid meteor shower?
The Orionids are the stellar debris left int he orbital path of the famous Comet 1P/Halley, more commonly known as Halley’s Comet.
As the giant mass of frozen ice and dust races around the Sun, it sheds bits and pieces of its outer layers which the Earth then passes through.
In October this cosmic debris produces the Orionids meteor shower and then again in May it produces the Eta Aquarids meteor shower.
Space agency NASA said: “Orionid meteors are known for their brightness and for their speed.
“These meteors are fast—they travel at about 148,000 mph (66 km/s) into the Earth’s atmosphere.”