Watch as the Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight
On any given night, far from bright city lights, there’s a chance you’ll see a beautiful streak shoot across the sky as a meteor flies overhead. But on special dates throughout the year, skywatchers can catch a large number of flares as meteor showers erupt in the darkness.
The next event is the Orionids, which will last until about November 22nd, but will culminate tonight, Friday, October 20th, on the morning of Saturday, October 21st.
Meteor showers occur when our planet encounters the debris fields left behind by icy comets or rocky asteroids orbiting the sun. These small particles burn up in the atmosphere, leading to burning light trails. The regularity of orbital mechanics means that each meteor shower occurs at approximately the same time every year, with the changing phases of the bright moon being the main variable affecting their visibility.
After reaching the outgoing track of Halley’s Comet in May, Earth encounters the debris left by the comet as it moves toward the Sun each October, creating the Orionid meteor shower. It is a medium strength shower, typically producing 10 to 20 stripes per hour, but in exceptional years this can reach up to 70 stripes per hour.
The moon will be about a third full this year, but will set around midnight, leaving the sky free of its influence. The shower will be visible around the world between midnight and 4 a.m. local time.
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How to see a shower
The best practice is to go to the countryside and get as far away from artificial light sources as possible. People in rural areas may have the luxury of just getting outside. But city dwellers also have options.
Many cities have an astronomical association that maintains a special dark sky area. “I would suggest contacting them and finding out where they are,” Robert Lunsford, the secretary general of the International Meteor Organization, said in a 2022 interview with The New York Times.
Meteor showers are usually best seen when the sky is darkest, after midnight but before sunrise. To see as many meteors as possible, wait 30 to 45 minutes after you arrive at your viewing location. This allows your eyes to adapt to the dark. Then lie back and take in much of the night sky. Clear nights, higher altitudes and times when the moon is thin or absent are best. Mr. Lunsford suggested a good rule of thumb: “The more stars you can see, the more meteors you can see.”
Binoculars or telescopes are not necessary for meteor showers and will actually limit your view.
How meteor showers form
Each shower peaks on a certain date when Earth plows into the densest part of the debris field, although in some cases many meteors can still be seen before or after that particular night.
A shower is named after a constellation in the part of the sky where it appears to come from. But it is not necessary to be perfectly aware of every detail of the celestial sphere. Meteors should be visible everywhere in the sky during a given rain shower.