Viewers across the world are being treated to one of the best meteor showers of the year: the Orionids.
Lasting all the way through to 7 November, steaks of light are currently visible in the night sky from the Orionid meteor shower.
While the shower reaches its maximum on Wednesday, 21 October, it should be easily visible around this date, having started on the night of 2 October.
Seeing the Orionids, like any other meteor shower, is relatively simple. All prospective viewers need to do is go outside – preferably somewhere with as little light as possible – and look up towards the night sky, let your eyes adjust, and see if you can spot anything.
However, that might be a little more difficult than usual this year. That’s because the Moon will be waxing gibbous, or on its way to a full Moon, on the night of the 21 October peak. As a result, light from the bright Moon could make it harder for viewers to see any dimmer meteors.
What makes the the Orionid meteor shower different?
The Orionid meteor shower is known as a particularly reliable meteor shower – its peak lasts for about a week, making it relatively convenient to watch.
But it is also special because the meteors are pieces of Halley, the comet that has been visiting us for thousands of years and caused a stir when it last passed in 1986.
In fact, the “shooting stars” that we see, as with other meteor showers, are actually pieces left behind by that comet as it travels through space.
As the Earth moves through that field, the debris collides with our atmosphere and vaporises, leaving behind the visible streak of light.
The Orionids get their name from the fact that they seem to come out of the constellation Orion. Despite this, they should be visible right across the night sky.
But meteor shower is not the only one to result from Halley’s Comet, which is officially known as 1P/Halley. Debris from that object are also responsible for the Eta Aquariids, which are set to arrive in May.
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