Best nights to stargaze — next 7 days
Pick a location and we’ll tell you the best nights to head out over the next week, plus which planets, meteor showers, and satellite passes you’ll actually be able to see.
Where are you watching from?
Tonight at a glance
Best nights — next 7 days
What you can see tonight
Planets above the horizon
Active meteor showers
Bright constellations this season
ISS passes — next 3 days
How the score works
Each night is rated out of 100 based on three things that make or break a stargazing trip: how cloudy it’ll be during full darkness (weighted most), how much moonlight is washing out the sky, and whether any meteor showers are peaking. Anything above 70 is a good night; 85+ is excellent. Get away from city lights if you can.
The Orionids are the second of two annual meteor showers produced by debris from Halley's Comet (the other being the Eta Aquariids in May). From New Zealand they are well-placed: Orion climbs high in the eastern sky after midnight through October, so the radiant is nicely positioned for pre-dawn viewing. The meteors are fast, often leave glowing trails, and include a steady sprinkling of bright fireballs.
When to watch the Orionids
The Orionids peak on the night of 21–22 October each year, with useful activity running from about 14 October to 27 October. The peak is broad — rates are similar for two or three nights on either side — so cloud on the exact peak night is rarely fatal to the trip.
Where to look from New Zealand
Look east from about 1 am onwards. The radiant sits just above Orion's upraised club, at the northern edge of the constellation. From New Zealand, Orion rises in the east around midnight in late October and climbs well above the horizon by the pre-dawn hours. Meteors will appear to streak outwards from that point, but the longest trails show up 30 to 60 degrees away, so keep your field of view wide.
How to get the best view
- This is a pre-dawn shower. Set an alarm for 2 am — before that, the radiant is too low.
- Get to a dark site with a clear eastern horizon. Hills to the east will block the most active part of the sky.
- Dark adaptation matters. Twenty minutes with no phone, no torch, no car headlights.
- Face east and lie back. A sun lounger or groundsheet beats standing and craning your neck.
- Dress for cold. October nights in New Zealand can still be crisp, especially inland.
- Check the Moon phase — the tool at the top of this page shows Moon rise and phase for your exact location.
- Bring a thermos. The best rates are in the last hour before dawn — stick it out.
What causes the Orionids
The Orionids come from the same comet as the Eta Aquariids — Comet 1P/Halley, the most famous comet in history. Halley last rounded the Sun in 1986 and is due back in 2061. Earth's orbit crosses Halley's twice a year, producing the Eta Aquariids in May and the Orionids in October. The October stream is less dense than the May one, so Orionid rates are a little lower, but the same cometary chemistry gives both showers their fast, glowing signature.
The meteors themselves
Orionid meteors scream in at about 66 kilometres per second — among the fastest of any shower. At that speed, meteors often leave persistent ionised trails that glow for several seconds after the streak itself, and a notable fraction produce fireballs bright enough to light up the ground. Realistic counts from a dark New Zealand site near peak are 15 to 25 per hour.
Forecast for your night
Use the live viewing panel at the top of this page to see whether the sky will be clear where you are. For the full night-by-night cloud, Moon and darkness forecast across every New Zealand region, visit the New Zealand Stargazing Forecast.