The moon will set as the shower radiant rises, just before 11 p.m. on the 20th, so midnight to dawn on the 21st will be your best bet. If that's inconvenient, though, some Orionids will be visible after midnight for several nights before and after the peak. Watch for the moon near Venus on the morning of September 15, a striking sight. The moon will appear near Mars on the evening of September 25, near Jupiter on the mornings of September 12 and October 10, and near Saturn on the morning of September 10. With binoculars. . .
Binocular viewers have some good events coming up.
From September 20 - 26, Mars will be in the same binocular view with the globular cluster M22 in Sagittarius. The globular cluster will look like a small, faint cotton ball, and will not be visible from the most brightly lighted areas of cities. Put another way, sunlight reflecting off Mars that week gets here in just under 7 minutes, but light from the stars of M22 gets here in just under 10,000 years. That isn't the only time to look at Mars in binoculars, though. Check its position against the background of distant stars every few days to see its motion .