The Orionid meteor shower peaks today, offering a good chunk of Moon-free observing in the hours before dawn.
Wait until after the Moon sets on the morning of Oct. 21 to catch the Orionids. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly
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October 20: Lovely spiral NGC 7331
The Orionid meteor shower peaks this morning — the perfect time to watch for shooting stars, as Earth turns into the meteoroid stream of dusty debris responsible for the show.
The best time to do some meteor-watching is between 2 A.M. local daylight time and dawn, as the radiant in Orion rises higher and the Moon has already set. Around 5 A.M., the Hunter stands above the southern horizon, his famous three-star Belt easy to find. Meteors in the Orionid shower appear to originate just to the upper left (northeast) of Betelgeuse, the bright red giant that serves as one of Orion’s shoulders. Once you’ve found this star, cast your gaze some 40° to 60° to either side, away from it — that’s where you’ll see meteors with the longest trains.
This year’s shower is expected to produce some 15–18 meteors per hour in the early-morning hours. And if you aren’t able to get out in the morning, you can try again late tonight after Orion rises and overnight into tomorrow morning. Even though the peak has passed, meteor rates will still be higher than the sporadic six or so per hour that are visible even without any showers active.
Sunrise: 7:17 A.M.
Sunset: 6:11 P.M.
Moonrise: 3:56 P.M.
Moonset: 2:15 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (81%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.