Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Orionids 2027 from Riyadh
The Orionids peak on the night of Thursday, October 21. From Riyadh the best time to watch is around 4:11 AM, when the radiant is almost straight overhead. Under a dark sky that means up to about 11 meteors an hour. From inside the city you will see far fewer.
The night at a glance
- Gets dark
- 6:11 PM
- Radiant rises
- 9:41 PM
- Best time
- 4:11 AM
- Light again
- 5:04 AM
- Moon
- 60% lit, rises around 10:21 PM
Times are local to Riyadh, worked out for the city centre. Dark means the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.
Where to look
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. They streak away from the radiant, which sits almost straight overhead at its best. Face that way but keep your gaze wide. Give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust and keep your phone in your pocket. The darker your spot, the more you will see.
About the Orionids
The Orionids are active from early October to early November. The meteors are debris from Halley's Comet (1P/Halley) and hit the atmosphere at about 66 km per second. At the peak, a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead would show about 20 an hour. Real counts are lower.