Meteor showers explained: what to know and how to watch
We call them shooting stars, but it’s actually meteors that create dazzling streaks of light across the night sky.
Skywatching season has begun with the arrival of fall temperatures, and clear skies are perfect for viewing the Orioind Meteor Shower.
It originated from Comet IP/Halley, also known as Halley’s Comet Orionid meteor shower It peaks across the Northern Hemisphere in October each year.
While Halley’s Comet only becomes visible to Earth every 76 years, Earth passes through the comet’s dust every year between September and November, providing a stunning view of the elusive comet. The Orionid meteor shower is named after the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from — the constellation Orion — which serves as a guide to help skygazers identify the type of meteor shower they are seeing. But it is not the source of meteors.
This meteor shower is considered one of the best meteor showers of the year, as Orionids are famous for their speed, which reaches 41 miles per second, and their brightness, according to NASA. This year, peak activity occurs on October 21, providing the best opportunity to see meteors in action.
What does an orionid meteorite look like?
The Orionids’ tremendous speed makes them unique, traveling at about 148,000 miles per hour within Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA.
Halley’s Comet dust evaporates as the planet passes through the suspended debris, sometimes creating colorful streaks of light. These can appear as glowing “trains” that follow a meteorite, and can last for several seconds to several minutes, according to the space agency.
The Orionid meteor shower is also known for producing fireballs or light explosions. Check out some examples of colorful fireballs and orionids from past years below:
Orionids should be visible across the northern and southern hemispheres after midnight, starting in late September and can be spotted until late November.
What will the viewing conditions be like this year for the Jabariyat Summit?
Under ideal conditions with a dark sky and a new moon, about 23 meteors per hour can be observed. As for the forecast, cloudy skies could hinder seeing the meteor.
This year, clouds will be a nuisance for many across the United States on a night of peak activity, including Texas, the Southeast, the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. Weather models show that clouds cover between 50 and 100% of these areas on Saturday night, which is not ideal for observing fast-moving meteors.
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Areas in the Southwest, southern Plains, mid-Atlantic, and central and southern Florida have a better sky viewing outlook with few clouds expected.
This was moments before the fireball collided with the Earth’s atmosphere, shattering into pieces during an orionid meteor shower. (Brenda Tate and Tim Doucette via Storyful/FOX Weather)
At the start of the meteor shower’s peak on October 20, the nearly 40% full moon shouldn’t provide much light and steal the spotlight from the Orionids. However, you don’t have to wait until the peak of shower activity hits and look up. A few days before the peak on October 18 and 19, a crescent moon patch will provide better conditions for spotting some meteors.
Orionids remain active through November, but will be harder to spot at the end of October, as the full Hunter Moon will occur on October 28.
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