Haley’s comet in 1986.
NASA
A disappearing moon is setting the scene for some prominent meters this week appearing as the top of some ornitholic meat showers nearby. The Draconid meter shower And an amazing performance Mars in the night sky Served as the inaugural act for the Orionides, which is already active and is now appearing. The sinking crescent moon provides a mostly dark sky to help you wake up your shooting star the next few nights.
Orionides are really just fragments of dust and debris and have lagged behind the famous Comet Haley on their previous journeys through the inner solar system. As our planet passes through the cloud of Comet Detritus around this time each year, all that cosmic gravel and heat slam into our high atmosphere and burn up in an exhibition that we see shooting stars on Earth and even ever. -Sometimes seen as a fire extinguisher.
Orionides is considered a major meteor shower based on the amount of meters visible, which can be seen running towards inevitable destruction during its active period, lasting from the first week of October to the first week of November.
The show is already active and Prediction of the American Meter Society Over the next several days, several hours per hour will appear which will peak on October 20 and October 21, while this number may increase to 20 per hour.
Orionides may refer to the old phrase “blink and you may remember it” as they enter our environment at a very high speed of about 147,000 miles per hour (66 kilometers per second). That said, a large number of these meters leave continuous trails that last only a few seconds. Some even break and fall in great fashion.
Photos of 2020 instant meteor showers look bright in a dark year
See all photos
To capture the show, the advice is the same for all celestial spectator events: find a place away from light pollution with a wide open view of the night sky. Bundle if necessary, go back, relax and adjust your eyes. You don’t need to focus on any part of the sky, but the Orionids are named because their trails originate from the same common area of the sky as Orion and Bright star.
The perfect time to explore Orionides in 2020 is probably in the early morning hours on October 21, but this shower is known for a great peak, so if you wake up you have a good chance to see some meteors Must meet a few days before or even after that peak date.
The moon will set before the rising morning hours, to have another effect this year. Enjoy the show and, as always, please share any great meter shots you can get with me on Twitter Ericmac.
