Here’s How to See the Orionids Meteor Shower This Weekend
The Orionids meteor shower is in the city this week and will be at its maximum on weekends, as is usually the case with travel. If you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the best light shows in the solar system, Jane Houston Jones of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory recommended ( via Time ) that if the stargazers take their eyes off their phones today, October 20, they’ll: get the real show:
Orionid Peak October 20 – dark moonless night. Look outside the Orion Club a few hours before dawn and you can see up to 10-15 meteors an hour.
This is a high hourly rate for meteors. And, according to Space.com, they’ll be some of the best (i.e. fastest) and brightest. This is because the Earth is orbiting the debris created by Halley’s comet, which creates the Orionids stream in the first place:
The particles come from Comet 1P / Halley, better known as Comet Halley . This famous comet orbits the Earth every 75 to 76 years, and as an ice comet orbits the sun, it leaves a trail of cometary bits behind it.
It’s as if we are sprinkled with magic dust or cometary feces. This magic rain coincides with the moon in the first quarter, which means that the visibility is even higher than usual. It should be borne in mind that experts differ on when the peak viewing time will be; NASA meteor expert Bill Cook narrowed the timeline for viewing to 2 a.m. on both the 21st and 22nd, slightly different from Jones’s estimate. But even if you miss the absolute peak, you will be able to see the show any night with good visibility from 15th to 29th October.
In terms of location, Orionids can also be seen almost anywhere on Earth with a visible sky, although you may need to brush up on your astronomy knowledge to find them:
If you find the Orion Hunter form, the emission from the meteor shower (or point of origin) will be next to Orion’s sword, slightly north of his left shoulder (the star ofBetelgeuse ). But don’t look directly at the place, Cook said, “because meteors close to the radiant have short trails and are harder to see, so you need to look away from Orion.”
And yes, they should also be visible from the city, but light pollution can be a problem. For best results, start driving out of town at 1:30 am (your eyes need about 20 minutes to adjust to dark street lighting) and don’t look back until you see stars falling from the sky.