One of the most beautiful showers of the year will be visible this week.
- The Orionid meteor shower occurs annually from October 2 to November 7.
- This year, it will peak in the late night of October 20 and in the early hours of October 21.
- Stargazers will be able to see up to 20-25 shooting stars per hour if they view the shower from a dark site.
Hundreds of shooting stars will be visible this week.
The Orionid meteor shower usually takes place from October 2 to November 7 of every year. This week, one will be able to witness something magical as the peak of the shower will be in the late night of October 20 and the early hours of October 21. According to UNILAD, the Orionid meteor shower occurs “when Earth is passing through a stream of debris left behind by the most famous comet out there: Comet Halley.” Furthermore, the name of the shower comes from Orion since it appears to originate from a point in the constellation.
The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks in the late night of 20th October and early morning of 21st October. There will be no Moon in the sky to interfere, so you may see up to 20 meteors per hour.
📷An earthgrazer over Craig Goch Dam ©Sean Weekly pic.twitter.com/a3BKwo5nXs— Elan Valley (@Elan_Valley) October 14, 2020
What should you do to be able to see the shower?
The peak viewing is expected to take place at around midnight on Wednesday, October 21. As the moon is currently in a waxing crescent phase and is expected to set before midnight, dark skies will make the viewing of the shower even better. What is more, UNILAD reports that one will be able to see as many as 25 shooting stars per hour. Stargazers are advised to lie flat on their back with their feet facing southeast if they are in the northern hemisphere (and northeast if they are in the southern hemisphere). Earthsky reports that one most note that Orionids are “known to be extremely fast meteors, plummeting into the Earth’s atmosphere at about 66 kilometers – 41 miles – per second.”
