Orionid meteor shower
Look to the left of the constellation Orion for meteors (image courtesy American Meteor Society)
The Orionids peak on the evening of Tuesday, October 22. While most meteor showers have very sharp peaks which are best viewed on a single night, usually a few hours before sunrise, the Orionids are a bit different this year.
5-10 meteors per hour are expected on Monday and Wednesday evening with slightly more, up to 15 per hour expected on Tuesday according to the American Meteor Society
The radiant, or area of the sky that meteors appear to originate from is to the left of the constellation Orion. Orion rises around 10 pm local time and should be high enough by midnight to see meteors moving toward the horizon as well. You’ll see fewer as the first quarter Moon rises around 1 am local.
Category: ALL POSTS, Spacey Stuff
About the Author (Author Profile)
Tony Rice is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador and the voice and brains behinds the weekly Astronomy Report on the WeatherBrains podcast. He grew up in Southern California where he watched the Space Shuttles being build and landed nearby and was hooked. Tony brings weather and space together to communicate the excitement of space exploration and promote a greater appreciation for Earth sciences.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
