When to See the Orionid Meteor Shower This Month
Every fall, our planet passes through the ribbon of space debris left by Halley’s comet, and the Earth’s atmosphere, colliding with this trail of ice and dust, provides a spectacular annual light show called the Orionid meteor shower.
When is the Orionid meteor shower?
The first shooting stars of the Orionids are already appearing in the sky, and this show will continue through the first week of November or so, but the meteor shower will peak in the early morning between October 21st and 22nd. A hemisphere looking at the southwestern sky around 3-4 am can expect to see 20 to 30 meteors per hour sweeping across the sky before sunrise.
The meteors appear to originate somewhere between the constellation of Orion (hence the name) and the constellation of Gemini, but they should be visible in other parts of the sky if not too cloudy.
Orionid meteors are fast boys: these chunks of ice and burning space dust slam into our atmosphere at 41 miles per second, and when they burn up, they can create spectacular light streaks and even the occasional fireball.
This is a good year for the Orionids meteor shower.
This year the conditions for observing meteors are very favorable. The moon will be in the shape of a waning crescent, so it won’t be super bright, allowing us to see more cosmic fireworks. A few nights later, on October 25, the new moon will provide the darkest sky possible, perfect for watching shooting stars.
How to see the Orionids meteor shower
Watching meteors is as easy as looking up at the sky on a clear night and waiting, but if you want to improve your experience, here are some tips:
- You don’t need binoculars or a telescope to see the Orionids – burying your face in binoculars will shorten your field of view and reduce the chance of spotting shooting stars. But bring them to the space station anyway.
- Get somewhere away from lights, buildings and trees. You want as little light pollution as possible and the widest possible viewing area.
- Don’t switch between looking at your phone and the sky, and don’t use a flashlight. You want your pupils to stay as dilated as possible, and it takes about 15 minutes for the iris to actually open.
- Bring along a comfortable chair, a warm blanket, and someone you love.
- VisitNASA’s Find the Station site to see if the International Space Station is visible from your location, and if so, check it out. It’s really cool.