Astrology

Orionid meteor shower peaks this week under a bright moon

The Orionid meteor shower, made of debris from Halley's Comet, reaches its peak overnight from October 21 into October 22, with NASA listing typical rates of 10 to 20 meteors per hour under dark skies, the BBC and The Economic Times report.

A waxing gibbous moon will interfere with viewing this year, but conditions improve once it sets around 3 a.m. BST on Thursday, leaving darker skies before dawn as Orion climbs high overhead, the BBC and the Guardian report.

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Why the shower happens every October#

The meteors are grains shed by comet 1P/Halley, which swings through the inner solar system on a cycle of about 76 years. It last appeared in 1986 and is due back in 2061, the Economic Times and the Times of India report.

Earth passes through Halley's debris trail twice a year, once in April and May, producing the eta Aquariid shower, and again from early October through mid-November, producing the Orionids, the Weather Network reports.

As the particles enter the atmosphere they heat the surrounding air and burn up, producing the brief streaks of light known as meteors, moving at around 41 miles per second according to Yahoo News Canada, or about 66 kilometres per second as measured by the Guardian.

Where to look and what competes with it#

The meteors appear to radiate from a point near the constellation Orion, close to the red supergiant Betelgeuse, though they can appear anywhere across the sky, and are best viewed slightly away from that radiant point, the BBC reports.

The shower remains active from October 2 through November 7, so stray meteors can still be spotted on nights before and after the peak, the Economic Times and Universe Today report.

Saturn and the wider October sky#

The same week brings other sights, including a close approach between the bright moon and Saturn, and Venus shifting between morning and evening visibility, the Times of India reports.

Saturn reached opposition on October 4 and remains easy to spot most nights afterward, with the moon making a close approach to it, called a conjunction, on October 24 and 25, the Times of India reports.

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