Peaking Above Oregon, Washington, the Coast: Orionid Meteors, Two Comets, Light Pillar

Published 10/19/25 at 7:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Rockaway Beach, Oregon) – Comets, meteors and weird pillars, oh my. (Above: NASA photo of an Orionid meteor)

It's like that old cliché from Wizard of Oz but with a hefty dose of Star Trek. There is a stunning meteor shower going on right now, at least one major comet is becoming more visible (with a second a good possibility), and there's an ethereal pillar of light that could well be seen as well.

The meteor showers and two comets peak at the same time this week: Tuesday, October 21. Depending where you are in Washington and Oregon, weather could be cooperating as well.

The surprise delight of the season has been spotting Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) in many places around the world. In the Pacific Northwest, it's been photographed numerous places, including Depoe Bay, Coos Bay and the money shot in Cannon Beach by Portlander Steven Smith (below).

Photo Steven Smith / Solution 7 Media

Spotting it with the naked eye is extremely difficult, but many around Oregon and Washington have reported doing so, including Smith.

Tuesday, October 21 it passes its closest to Earth, about 56 million miles. It should be its brightest then.

If Pacific Northwest weather holds out that night is another question, but it looks possible – depending where you are. See Washington Coast Weather - Oregon Coast Weather  - Inland Oregon Weather

To see Lemmon, take a look to the northwest between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Look for the Big Dipper and follow that downward several degrees. Look for a fuzzy, greenish star that's very faint. It will be quite low in the horizon, which makes the Oregon and Washington coastlines a better place to spot it rather than inland.

According to Jim Todd, astronomy expert with “While the comet is expected to be visible in the northern hemisphere, the best viewing time is after sunset, low in the northwestern sky. Binoculars or a camera with a night-sky setting will likely provide the best view, and a scenic foreground can help frame the comet.”

As Space.com said: “Having two right comets visible in the sky around the same time is a rare cosmic treat.”

Yet Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) may well outdo its cosmic neighbor. For this one, you'll need to look to the eastern horizon just before dawn, around 5 a.m. or so. So far, it does not appear to have been photographed in Oregon or Washington, but other places around the world have snapped it.

Time and Date .com is an excellent place to help you spot comets and such.

Comet Swan (C/2025 R2) will get even closer, at roughly 24 million miles to Earth. It also will peak on October 20 and 21.

Orionid Meteors

Meteor in Oregon Coast Range / Oregon Coast Beach Connection

The Orionid meteor showers will run through November 12, but they're peaking on October 22-23, according to NASA. They have been stunning this past week – though you have to be patient.

“The Orionids, which peak during mid-October each year, are considered to be one of the most beautiful showers of the year,” NASA said. “Orionid meteors are known for their brightness and for their speed. These meteors are fast – they travel at about 41 miles (66 kilometers) per second into Earth's atmosphere. Fast meteors can leave glowing "trains" (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes.”

Sometimes these can become full-on fireballs. Spectacular Green Fireball Lights Up Oregon Valley Through Washington Coast

Oregon Coast Beach Connection can vouch for this: they leave fat, glowing trails behind and are unusually intense. Staff have seen three just this week; two within five minutes (which is rare).

“Look for prolonged explosions of light when viewing the Orionid meteor shower,” NASA said.

Oregon Coast Beach Connection has seen two fireballs before (about two years apart.) The three Orionids seen this week do indeed verge on that incredible sight.

How to spot them? NASA recommends looking after midnight.

They also suggest to come “prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair,” but it's a tad cold out right now for that here in the Pacific Northwest.

False Dawn's Pillar of Light

A rarely-caught and ethereal phenomenon known as the Zodiacal Light is making its seasonal show in the skies over the Pacific Northwest, visible in the hour before sunrise through early November. Often referred to as the “False Dawn” in fall, this faint, cone-shaped glow may resemble a pillar of light or a distant city’s illumination.

No one as yet seems to have photographed this one in the Pacific Northwest, either. The zodiacal light is probably better captured in rural eastern Oregon or Washington.

The best time to catch it is between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., say scientists.

The trippy thing about the Zodiacal Light is that it is likely dust in space that came from Mars.

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