The sky will shortly be illuminated with
Orionid meteor showers. You can view them where and when?
The apex of a meteor shower that NASA has called "one of
the most beautiful showers" of the year is anticipated to occur soon.
According to NASA, the Orionid meteors are renowned for their brightness and speed, moving at a
rate of around 148,000 mph, or 41 miles per second. Some of the meteors in the
shower create debris trains that appear to glow in their wake because of their high
speeds.
The meteors are also "framed by some of the brightest stars in the night sky,"
according to NASA, providing a "spectacular backdrop" against which
to observe the meteor shower.
Here is all the information you need to see the Orionid meteor shower.
How soon will the Orionid meteor shower begin?
NASA reports that the Orionid meteor shower began on September 26 and will last until November
22.
When is the Orionid
meteor shower at its height?
The Orionid meteor shower will peak this year on October 21. According to NASA, observers will be
able to see roughly 23 meteors per hour during this period in moonless skies.
Where will you be able to see the Orionid meteor shower?
It will be possible to see the meteor shower in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The
Orionids can be seen in the night sky "during the hours after
midnight," according to NASA. Get far enough from light sources for the
greatest view.
Your eyes will need around 30 minutes to adjust before you can start seeing meteors, according to
NASA.
According to NASA, if you're viewing from the northern hemisphere, you should lie flat on your
back with your feet pointed southeast. Your feet should be pointed northeast if
you are in the southern hemisphere.
Find the star Betelgeuse and the constellation Orion, which gives rise to the meteor shower, to get the
greatest view. The shower's radiant, or point in the sky from whence they
appear to be emerging, is located directly to the north of this star, according
to NASA. But don't look straight at Orion. Instead, cast your gaze 45–90
degrees away. As a result, the meteors "appear longer and more
spectacular." According to NASA, the meteors will appear "short"
when viewed directly through Orion.
After October 2023, when will there be another meteor
shower?
The American Meteor Society predicts that the Leonids will be the following meteor shower in 2023.
Nov. 3 will see the start of this shower, which will briefly overlap with the
Orionids before finishing on Dec. 2.
Nov. 18 will mark the climax of the Leonid meteor shower.
What brings about meteor showers?
According to NASA, meteors are composed of asteroidal fragments and relics from comets. Every
year, as the Earth travels through these debris trails, pieces of the dust
comets generate as they orbit the sun progressively spread out and crash with
the atmosphere of the planet. According to NASA, this causes them to
disintegrate and create the identifiable streaks in the sky.
Dust from Halley's Comet, which orbits the sun in 76 years and was last observed by untrained
observers in 1986, makes up the Orionids meteor shower. NASA predicts that the
comet won't return to our solar system until 2061.