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Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight: Here's the best time to spot shooting stars
Space • • general
Key Points:
- The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 21-22, as Earth passes through debris from Halley's Comet, producing 10 to 20 meteors per hour under ideal dark sky conditions.
- The waxing gibbous moon, nearing full, is expected to reduce visibility by obscuring fainter meteors during the peak.
- Meteors will appear to radiate from near the red star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, rising above the eastern horizon about an hour before midnight in the U.S.
- The best viewing time is in the pre-dawn hours of October 22, after the moon has set and the radiant reaches its highest point, with optimal viewing away from city lights and allowing eyes to adjust to darkness.
- Observers are advised to avoid looking directly at the radiant to see longer meteor trails and to take safety precautions when traveling to remote viewing locations, including using red lights to preserve night vision.
