Orionids: How to see the Halley’s comet meteor shower in October and November

The Orionid meteor shower began this 12 months on 2 October and will end on 7 November, however its peak ought to be on the night time of 21 October, with the brightest meteors in the early hours of the morning. It is one in all the most reliably energetic annual meteor showers and ought to be seen throughout the world. As lengthy as you possibly can see the Orion constellation, also referred to as the hunter, you stand an excellent probability of a spectacular show. With the moon solely partly illuminated throughout this era, round 20 meteors an hour ought to be seen in clear skies.

What are meteor showers?

Meteors are the flashes of sunshine that happen when particles enters our environment and heats up so quickly that it emits intense vivid gentle. They usually occur at random, however when Earth passes via a cloud of particles from a comet, many extra meteors will be seen over consecutive days or even weeks, relying on the dimension of the cloud.

Why are they known as the Orionids?

The Orionids are named for the undeniable fact that they seem to come from the Orion constellation, however these faraway stars don’t have anything to do with the manufacturing of the meteors themselves. The flashes are literally items of particles from Halley’s comet, which visits Earth’s neighborhood round as soon as each 75 years and was final seen in 1986. While recognizing the comet itself is a uncommon prevalence, Earth swings via its particles area yearly.

How can I watch the Orionids?

You will likely be at the mercy of the climate to an extent. Assuming you’ve got clear skies, attempt to discover someplace with minimal gentle air pollution and keep away from utilizing a torch or the gentle out of your telephone in order that your eyes alter to the darkish. The highest fee of meteors will likely be after midnight and earlier than daybreak.

Orionid meteors ought to be seen throughout the total night time sky, however they’ll seem to radiate from the Orion constellation due to the angle that Earth strikes via the comet’s tail. Each meteor will solely final a couple of seconds and will shoot throughout the sky — don’t get them confused with satellites, which can transfer easily throughout the sky for for much longer durations.

How do I discover Orion?

Orion is one in all the simpler constellations to spot as a result of it’s made up of many vivid stars and is in line with Earth’s equator, which makes it seen from virtually wherever in the world for a minimum of some components of the 12 months. In the northern hemisphere, you possibly can see Orion from September, however it’s most evident between January and March.

The clearest function of Orion is a straight line of three vivid stars that type the hunter’s belt. These stars are known as Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, and are pretty evenly spaced and of comparable brightness. Once you suppose you’ve got discovered the belt, you possibly can search for different vivid stars that make up Orion, like Rigel, the sixth-brightest star in the sky, which ought to be at the backside proper in the northern hemisphere, or Betelgeuse, a faintly purple star that will likely be at Orion’s prime left shoulder in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, their positions are flipped, with Rigel in the prime left and Betelgeuse the backside proper.

What is Halley’s comet?

Halley’s comet is a 15-kilometre large ball of mud and ice that passes by Earth roughly each 75 years. It is a short-period comet, outlined as having an orbit round Earth that takes lower than 200 years. The comet was final seen in February 1986, and it’s due to return in July 2061.

Scientists suppose that comets like Halley’s originated in the far reaches of the photo voltaic system, reminiscent of in the icy Oort cloud. Over time, the gravity of the solar and the planets has pulled comets like Halley’s on an orbit in direction of the centre of the photo voltaic system.