It’s time to witness two more meteor showers.
Stargazers already had the opportunity in 2025 to see several other meteor showers, including the Quadrantids in January, the Lyrids in April, the Eta Aquariids in May and the Perseids in August.
In October, people will be able to see the Draconid meteor shower, and also the Orionid meteor shower.
Here’s when they are, and how you can see them.
When is the Orionid meteor shower?
This photo taken late December 14, 2018 with a long time exposure shows a meteor streaking through the night sky over Myanmar during the Geminid meteor shower seen from Wundwin township near Mandalay city.
This shower will run from Oct. 2, 2025 to Nov. 12, 2025. The best time to see them will be on the night of Oct. 22-23, 2025, according to the American Meteor Society.
When is the Draconid meteor shower?
People should be looking at the sky on the evening of Oct. 8, 2025 starting at around 7 p.m. and through the early hours of Oct. 9 for the peak of the annual meteor shower, according to EarthSky online. The overall duration is Oct. 6 through 10.
How many meteors can typically be seen during the Draconid shower?
People can expect to see around 5-10 meteors per hour with the naked eye, according to the Live Science website, which noted that Draconids are usually slow-moving meteors.
EarthSky online added that, “this shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes. In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour. That possibility keeps many skywatchers outside – even in moonlight – during this shower.”
Astronomers consider the Draconid meteor shower an “oddity” because of its tendency to erupt with meteors.
How many meteors do the Orionids produce?
In past years, certain Orionid meteor showers have produced 50-75 meteors per hour that can be seen with the naked eye.
That amount of meteors is in line with the number of them seen during the annual Perseid meteor shower, which occurred in late summer.
Where do meteor showers come from?
Meteors are just pieces of comets that hurtle through space.
The Draconids, also known as the Giacobinids, come from the parent comet, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, according to Smithsonian Magazine online.
The parent comet of the Orionids is none other than the famous Halley’s Comet.
“Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds ice and rocky dust into space,” NASA stated on its website. “The dust grains eventually become the Orionids in October and the Eta Aquarids in May if they collide with Earth’s atmosphere.”
Halley’s Comet can be seen from Earth every 76 years, and it was last seen in the skies back in 1986. The next time it is slated to be seen is in 2061.
The comet was discovered by Edmond Halley in 1705, and he was the one who predicted the comet would return in the future.
To see the Orionid meteor shower, look to the east and southeast sky between midnight and dawn.
What’s the best way to see these meteor showers?
No telescopes are required to see the Draconids or the Orionids. NASA noted it will take less than 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust before you can start seeing meteors, adding viewers should look for “prolonged explosions of light.”
NASA, added online that it is best to find an area away from lights when looking for meteors. Areas such as nature preserves or hilly terrains might be good spots.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 2 meteor showers, the Draconid and the Orionid, are soon. Here’s when