There are various meteor showers that occur throughout the year, each with unique characteristics and varying degrees of visibility. During October, it’s time for the Orionids, one of the best known meteor showers and also the most reliable. This is also a fantastic chance for you to go outside and observe them for yourself, learning more about what makes them unique.
Shooting stars aren’t actually stars, but are caused by meteoroids. These are essentially rocks travelling in space. They can be similar in size to small pebbles and sand or, in rarer cases, bigger objects.
As our Earth moves through its orbit around the Sun, it can run into these objects by chance. There is a lot of this material hitting Earth: approximately 48 tons per day.
As the particles enter our atmosphere, they become meteors. The Orionids have an average speed of about 61 km/s. The interaction with our atmosphere causes them to burn up at high altitude, cause bright streaks in the sky visible for a short time.
Where are they from?
Meteor showers, though, are not just chance interactions with asteroids. Comets leave behind denser patches of space debris that Earth occasionally travels through on its orbit around the Sun.
Comets resemble unclean snowballs composed of loose particles bound together by frozen gasses. Meteors may create amazing displays when they shoot across the sky when Earth comes into contact with comet debris.
Each meteor shower is linked to a specific comet. The Orionids are of interest, not because there are lots of meteors, but because they are linked to Halley’s comet. This comet was the first to be recognized as periodic – those with orbital periods around the Sun of less than 200 years.
When and how to view the Orionids?
The Orionids will peak this weekend in the wee hours between Oct. 20 and Oct. 21. So you can either stay up late Friday or wake up before dawn on Saturday to optimize the view.
Speaking of optimizing, NASA says that you can boost your chances of having a nice view by finding an observation spot away from city or street lights, if possible, and letting your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 30 minutes. Then, they recommend sitting or laying down with your feet facing southeast if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, or northeast if you are in the Southern Hemisphere. Lastly, NASA says to look away from the Orion constellation by 45 to 90 degrees. Looking directly at them as they appear to emerge from Orion will make the meteors look shorter and less spectacular.
