Don't miss the Orionid meteor shower peak tonight (Oct. 21) - Space.com

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An illustration of the nighttime entity connected Oct. 21 showing the Orionid meteor ablution originating from the Orion constellation. (Image credit: Starry Night Software)

The Orionid meteor ablution peaks overnight contiguous (Oct. 21), making this an fantabulous clip to get extracurricular and spot immoderate fireballs streak done the atmosphere.

The viewing conditions for this year's Orionid meteor shower are favorable, arsenic the satellite volition beryllium successful a waning crescent phase and volition beryllium lone 17% illuminated. The Orionids are considered to beryllium 1 of the astir reliable meteor showers aft the Geminids and Perseids, and are known to nutrient dozens of meteors per hour, making this year's ablution an fantabulous accidental for immoderate late-night skywatching.

The Orionids get their sanction from the information that the meteor shower's radiant — the constituent successful the entity from which the meteors look to originate — is successful the Orion constellation adjacent to the Hunter's club. In the Northern Hemisphere, Orion volition beryllium located successful the southwestern sky; successful the Southern Hemisphere, the constellation volition look successful the northwestern sky.

Each twelvemonth toward the extremity of October, the Earth passes done a swarm of meteoroids near down successful the aftermath of Halley's Comet. As these bits of particulate brushwood our planet's atmosphere, they brushwood friction and ignite the aerial successful beforehand of them. Even a tiny pea-sized portion of Halley's debris tin pain with capable incandescence to beryllium seen from 60 miles (100 km) beneath connected the ground.

Orion is located connected the celestial equator and tin beryllium seen passim the world.

The champion clip of nighttime to presumption the meteors volition beryllium successful the aboriginal greeting hours connected Saturday (Oct. 22) conscionable earlier dawn. Pre-dawn meteors thin to beryllium brighter than those earlier successful the nighttime owed to the information that Earth astatine this clip of nighttime is moving toward the absorption successful which the meteors are originating. Meteors successful the aboriginal greeting hours volition look faster and brighter than those seen earlier successful the night.

To drawback a presumption of the shower, enactment retired a comfy reclining chair, find an country with arsenic small airy contamination arsenic imaginable and marque definite to enactment warm. Give your eyes astatine slightest 30 minutes to adjust.

Editor's note: If you drawback a photograph of the Orionid meteor ablution you'd similar to stock with Space.com and our quality partners for a communicative oregon representation gallery, nonstop images and comments successful to: spacephotos@space.com.

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Brett is simply a subject and exertion writer who is funny astir emerging concepts successful spaceflight and aerospace, alternate motorboat concepts, anti-satellite technologies, and uncrewed systems. Brett's enactment has appeared connected The War Zone astatine TheDrive.com, Popular Science, the History Channel, Science Discovery, and more. Brett has English degrees from Clemson University and the University of North Carolina astatine Charlotte. In his escaped time, Brett is simply a moving musician, a hobbyist electronics technologist and cosplayer, an avid LEGO fan, and enjoys hiking and camping passim the Appalachian Mountains with his woman and 2 children.

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