The Orionid Meteor Shower, happening this weekend, is about to blow your mind.
NASA says the Orionids, which annually peak in mid-October, are one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year. This is because at this particular time of the year, the Earth moves through a part of space that is littered with debris from Halley’s Comet. (One man’s trash is another man’s stellar starshow.)
The legendary Halley’s Comet was last seen in 1986 and won’t be visible again until 2061, because it takes about 76 years to complete its orbit. Meanwhile, we get to enjoy its rubble.
According to EarthSky.org, the best time to look out for a profundity of meteors is the morning of October 21—that’s this Friday.
There will be a nice little waning moon to keep the stars visible by not being too big and bright and, you know, competitive (that’s why as the moon gets slimmer, you can see more stars). This month, as the moon wanes, the meteor shower nears its peak: perfect timing for us to see these exciting streaks in the dark sky.
Where to look for them? The meteors will radiate from a point near the constellation Orion’s upraised club, says EarthSky. So, lie on your back with your feet facing southeast if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or northeast if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, says NASA, and try to view as much of the sky at a time as you can. It may take 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust enough to see the meteors. You can watch them until dawn.
You can expect to see, at the peak, 10 to 20 meteors per hour if the sky is dark enough. And they’ll be pretty flamboyant: the Orionids can sometime produce bright fireballs with lasting trains behind them; the trains can last from several seconds to several minutes. These meteors travel at a not-too-shabby 41 miles per second.
You likely notice the word Orion in the term Orionids—they earn this name by emanating from the constellation Orion the Hunter. Speaking of hunting...
The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon in October which follows the Harvest Moon. It’s called the Hunter’s Moon because it is the time when Native American tribes traditionally gathered meat for the long winter ahead. This year’s full moon was October 9, so we are now witnessing the last remnants of it as we search for the meteors.
This particular meteor shower’s already been underway for a while, since mid-September, and will continue until November 22. There are actually three showers happening right now; the other two are the Northern and Southern Taurids, which will both peak in November (November 4-5 for the Southern and November 11-12 for the Northern). So if you miss this shower, the next big one isn’t far behind!