The Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks this Week
RandomFactor writes:
The Orionid meteor shower peaks this week! Here's what to expect.
This year,
Orionid visibility extends from Oct. 16 to Oct. 26, with peak activity of perhaps 15 to 30 meteors per hour coming on the morning of Oct. 21. Step outside before sunrise on any of these mornings and if you catch sight of a meteor, there's about a 75% chance that it likely is a byproduct of Halley's Comet. The very last Orionid stragglers usually appear sometime in early to mid-November.
The best time to watch begins from about 1 or 2 a.m. local daylight time until the first light of dawn (at around 5:45 a.m.), when Orion stands highest above the southern horizon. The higher in the sky Orion is, the more meteors appear all over the sky. The Orionids are one of just a handful of known meteor showers that can be observed equally well from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Orionid meteors are normally dim and not well seen from urban locations, so it's suggested that you find a safe rural location to see the best Orionid activity.
The Orionid meteor shower is an annual occurrence comprised of detritus from Haley's comet. With the moon only a slender crescent this will be a good year to watch them.
The name refers to the fact that the meteors radiate from just above Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion.
Previous Coverage
Orionid Meteor Shower (2015)
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.