Orionid meteors will light up the darkness

Debris from Halley’s Comet gives birth to one of 2012’s best meteor showers.

By Michael E. Bakich

The Orionid meteor shower peaks before dawn October 21. With no Moon interfering after midnight, observers with dark skies can expect to see between 20 and 30 meteors per hour. Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Prospects look good for the peak of this year’s Orionid meteor shower, which occurs the night of October 20/21. Streaking swiftly across the sky, tiny bits of rock and metal burn up as meteors. Although Earth constantly sweeps up interplanetary dust, our planet runs through a slightly denser trail this month. Astronomers call this event the Orionid meteor shower because all of the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Orion.

According to Astronomy magazine senior editor Richard Talcott, conditions should be good this year. “Although a waxing crescent Moon will share the sky with the Orionids before midnight, people will be looking away from it. The Moon shouldn’t cut the number of visible meteors by more than 20 percent.”

The radiant — the point in the sky where all the meteor trails trace back to — lies in northeastern Orion the Hunter, where that constellation borders Gemini the Twins. The Orionids’ radiant rises before midnight and stands high in the south by 4 a.m. local daylight time, a full two hours before dawn. This year, viewing conditions are favorable. At the shower’s peak, the waxing crescent Moon sets well before the prime observing hours after midnight.

Rates can reach 30 meteors per hour, and occasionally more. The predawn hours offer the best viewing because that’s when your location will face Earth’s direction of travel. Essentially, after midnight Earth will be running into the meteors.

The shower remains active all month, beginning October 2 and ending November 7. Meteor rates start and end with a trickle, but they achieve a substantial peak October 20/21. (The 1993 and 1998 Orionid showers showed higher rates three to four days earlier, so it’s worth watching the shower before its predicted maximum.)

Enjoying a meteor shower requires only comfort and patience. Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich gives tips on spending a night under "shooting stars" in this video. Click on the image to go to the video.

Orionid meteors are among the fastest of all shower meteors, striking Earth’s upper atmosphere at 148,000 mph (238,000 km/h). Many leave persistent trains — glowing tubes of ionized gas created by the dust particles burning up.

All Orionid meteors originate from debris left behind by Halley’s Comet during its passages through the inner solar system. Earth’s orbit intersects this debris trail in two places, resulting in this fine autumn shower and another good one in May called the Eta Aquarids.

It’s best to view meteor showers without optical aid because binoculars or a telescope restrict the field of view. If you must observe before midnight, face eastward and look about halfway up. From midnight to 2 a.m. local time, looking overhead will probably net you the most meteors. And from 2 a.m. until dawn, look roughly halfway up in the west. Glancing around now and again won’t hurt your chances of seeing the maximum number of meteors.

Meteor showers are great social and family events. This year’s Orionids peak on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, which makes getting a group together easier. Head out of town to a dark location. Bring lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and hot drinks to stay warm. Plan to wear winter gear — many observers are surprised at the chill of autumn’s late-night air.

Fast facts:

At 148,000 mph (238,000 km/h), Orionid meteors are the second-fastest of any annual shower. Only the Leonids of November hit our atmosphere faster, at 159,000 mph (256,000 km/h).
The Orionid meteor shower is one of two that derive from Comet Halley’s debris. The other is the Eta Aquarid shower, which peaks in May.

Expand your knowledge with these tools from Astronomy magazine

Video: How to observe meteor showers, with Michael E. Bakich, senior editor
Video: Easy-to-find objects in the 2012 autumn sky, with Richard Talcott, senior editor
StarDome: Locate the shower's radiant in Orion in your night sky with our interactive star chart.
The Sky this Week: Get your Orionid meteor shower info from a daily digest of celestial events coming soon to a sky near you.
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KEVIN L STARNES from COLORADO said:

Just this past Thursday I was up in the Colorado mountains because the light/air pollution in Denver makes astronomy virtually impossible. While setting up my scope at 4:00 am I saw several bright Orionids streaking by and they put on a good show. Tonight I'm going to get out of the city and hope for some more Orionids "dropping by."

Submitted: 10/21/2012 11:12:39 AM (CST)

BRIAN SWARTZ from MARYLAND said:

It's 5:00 sunday morning and here in frederick md the orionids were a bust despite perfect skies and the absence of the moon. Only one or two bright ones with a trail and only a handful of lesser ones since 1am. Very disappointing.

Submitted: 10/21/2012 4:01:14 AM (CST)

CHRIS R BAKER from CALIFORNIA said:

Ok, I just went out and took a look at the setting sun, Oct 19, 6PM Pacific time and the moon looks to be about 2 hours behind it. That puts the new moon or only VERY TINY waxing crescent on the morning of the 21st. Probably still in twilight. How could that block the view of any meteors?

Submitted: 10/19/2012 8:12:43 PM (CST)

THOMAS VAN DYKE from NORTH CAROLINA said:

I started shooting last night from a dark site in Rhode Island a got some nice shots of meteors going thru the Summer Triangle. The camera picked them up but probably to faint to the unaided eye

Submitted: 10/19/2012 3:35:34 PM (CST)

DAVID BAUMGARTNER from CALIFORNIA said:

The 20th of October is my Wife's and my 50th anniversary. JoAnne is not into astronomy as I am, so I might have a hard time getting her out in the back yard at 2am to celabrate our 50th watching a bunch of streaks in the sky. It is interesting to think that the origin of these little specks that we see today was the same that occured back on our wedding day. But I must admit I wasn't thinking much of the Orionads on that day so long ago.

Submitted: 10/19/2012 2:15:19 PM (CST)

RONALD BROOKMAN from ARIZONA said:

I would still like to see the article that had all the neat small pictures , I thik there was 100 of them. I have had problems
loging on and getting into that Issue. Thanks Ron Brookman
email wildmans@cox.net I'm hoping it is still avalible thanks.

Submitted: 10/18/2012 12:57:36 AM (CST)

MAUREEN ROCHE from CALIFORNIA said:

You forgot 61 year cycle of Fireballs mentioned the magazine, for a memorable heightened Halloween wails!

Submitted: 10/16/2012 7:45:29 PM (CST)

KAT CORNICK said:

Its gonna be hard but my twin 6 yr old want to see them..hot coco@ nightnight sounds fun

Submitted: 10/13/2012 1:28:51 PM (CST)

AUDREY FISCHER from ILLINOIS said:

Great review! Thanks Michael. Lucky thing that this coincides nicely with National Astronomy Day. We'll be hosting a free StarParty at Starved Rock State Park that weekend. All astronomers are welcomed to come and stay at the Youth Campground for no charge as long as they are willing to do public outreach with their scopes... and register ahead with the Chicago Astronomical Society.

Submitted: 9/14/2012 1:55:43 PM (CST)

BILL SIMPSON from LOUISIANA said:

You panicked me there for a second. I thought I was going to have to try and get a glimpse of them through the eye of Hurricane Isaac next week. That could be rough.
Many nights, if you look up on a moonless night for a few minutes at a dark site, you will see a meteor or two. I would imagine they are from comets long gone. You need a fairly dark sky to see them.

Submitted: 8/24/2012 6:17:23 AM (CST)

	Mercury	Mercury	Venus	Venus
RISE	—		—
SET	—		—
		—		—