Monday, October 17, 2011

Orionids Meteor Shower 2011

This weekend Earth will enter the debris field left by the famous Halley's Comet. The resulting meteor shower is called the Orionids, and often produces a great show similar to the Perseids (on a smaller scale). Expect the show to begin this week with the maximum falling on the evening of the 21st into dawn of the 22nd.

As you may already know, meteor showers are named from their apparent point of origin in the sky, and these are no different - radiating away from the Orion constellation. The ideal time to view this (and all) showers is around 5 am, but I'll begin my watch after 11 PM on Friday and stay up as long as I can. The moon will interfere somewhat so do your best to get away from all local light pollution. Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment