[ad_1]
The Orionid meteor shower will peak in the early morning hours of Wednesday, October 20, but the moon will be full on the same night and likely clear the display. This year, sky watchers in the northern and southern hemispheres can expect to see rates of up to 20 meteors per hour, but only under the best conditions, away from city lights.
“The Orionids are, frankly, going to suck this year… the moon will be up all night, from sunset to sunrise,” NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com.
Meteors crossing the sky are some of the fastest among meteor showers, as the Earth nearly collides with a stream of particles head-on. The particles originate from comet 1P / Halley, better known as Halley’s comet. This famous comet passes close to Earth every 75 to 76 years, and as the icy comet makes its way around the sun, it leaves behind a trail of comet crumbs. At certain times of the year, the Earth’s orbit around the sun intersects with debris.
Related: Orionid meteor shower: the remains of Halley’s comet
Following: The best meteor showers of 2021
The Orionids are named after the direction from which they appear to radiate, which is near the constellation Orion, the hunter. In October, Orion is best seen around 2 a.m. local time. Cooke told Space.com that the best time to see the meteors is around this time, October 21. If you miss the peak, the shower will remain active until the end of October, as long as the moon does not wash away the meteors.
Sometimes the Orionid meteor shower produces spectacular displays of up to 80 meteors per hour, but in recent years it has produced more modest displays of around 20 or 30 visible meteors per hour.
How to see the show
Orionid meteors are visible from anywhere on Earth and can be seen anywhere in the sky. If you find Orion’s form, the hunter, meteor shower radiant (or point of origin) will be near Orion’s sword, slightly north of his left shoulder (the star Betelgeuse). But don’t look directly at that location, Cooke said, “because meteors close to the radiant have short trails and are harder to see – so you want to look away from Orion.”
As is the case with most night sky viewing events, light pollution can interfere with your vision of the Orionid meteor shower. If possible, stay away from city lights, which can interfere with the show. Get out around 1:30 a.m. and let your eyes adjust to the dark for about 20 minutes. Bundle up against the cold if necessary. Lie down and use only your eyes to look up at the sky. Binoculars and telescopes will not improve eyesight because they are designed to see more fixed objects in the sky.
Some Orionids will appear very fast and bright, as they can spin at a relative speed of up to 148,000 mph (238,000 km / h). It’s only 6 km / h slower than the Leonids, the fastest show of the year, Cooke said.
It’s tempting to think that the brightest meteors represent shards reaching the ground, but Cooke said the Orionids didn’t. These tiny comet fragments – some as small as a grain of sand – are called meteorites. When they enter Earth’s atmosphere, they become meteors. Friction from the resistance of the air causes meteors to heat up, creating a bright, fiery trail commonly referred to as a shooting star. Most meteors disintegrate before they reach the ground. The few that strike the surface of the Earth are called meteorites.
Related: How often do meteorites strike the Earth?
Astronomers recorded Halley’s comet as early as 240 BC, but no one realized that the same comet was making multiple appearances. In 1705 Edmund Halley, then professor and astronomer at the University of Oxford, published “Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae” (“A Summary of Comet Astronomy”), which showed the first evidence that the comet was reproducing. By studying the historical records of a comet that appeared in 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682, Halley calculated that it was in fact the same comet and predicted that it would reappear in 1758. Although Halley died before the return of the comet, it appeared on schedule. and was named after him.
Reports of the Orionids, however, didn’t first appear until 1839, when an American from Connecticut spotted the shower, Cooke said. Further sightings of the rain were recorded during the Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Cooke told Space.com he was not sure why the meteor shower was discovered so late, given that the recordings of the Halley’s comet have been around for millennia.
The next perihelion (close approach of Halley’s comet towards the sun) is expected around July 2061.
Editor’s Note: If you take a great photo of an Orionid meteor or any other night sky view that you would like to share with Space.com and our press partners for a story or image gallery, send images and comments to : [email protected]. This story was updated on August 14 for the 2021 meteor shower.
follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
[ad_2]
Source link