The year may be winding down, but Mother Nature isn’t slowing down one bit. Just last week, stargazers were treated to yet another Northern Lights display, where even New York City residents saw the vibrant spectacle. And this weekend, the celestial heavens have another event on their radar. If you find yourself awake during the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 20, look skywards, and you might see the Orionids meteor shower, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is forecasting as “one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year.”
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The Orionids are active from Sept. 26 to Nov. 22; however, the meteor showers peak during mid-October when Earth passes through “debris trails” leftover from comet Halley, says NASA. During this collision, the debris disintegrates in our atmosphere, creating “fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.”
This phenomenon will occur on Sunday, Oct. 20, and Monday, Oct. 21, between 12:00 a.m. and dawn local time. Depending on the moon’s lighting, the meteor show should be visible in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, according to NASA.
Orionid meteors are particularly bright and fast. At their peak, they can produce 23 meteors per hour, traveling into Earth’s atmosphere at speeds up to 148,000 miles per hour (or 41 miles per second). At certain speeds, meteors can even turn into fireballs.
“Fast meteors can leave glowing 'trains' (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes,” says NASA. “Look for prolonged explosions of light when viewing the Orionid meteor shower.”
Oftentimes, you need special glasses or the help of a telescope to view rare celestial events like a total solar eclipse. Fortunately, meteor showers are perfectly acceptable to view with the naked eye, so feel free to leave your safety glasses and binoculars at home for this one.
Avid sky-gazers know the best way to see any space spectacle is away from bright city lights (including street lights!) and in low-rise areas, where skyscrapers and tall trees won’t disrupt your view. If your town has a scenic lookout point or large grassy field, that could work.
“Come prepared with a blanket. Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors,” instructed Bill Cooke, the leader at NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.
For some folks, the Orionids might be harder to see because of the moon’s lunar phase. A brief astronomy lesson: As the moon passes through each of its eight phases, its surface becomes “more refined” and “illuminated,” per the U.S Naval Observatory (USNO) Astronomical Applications Department. That percentage increases with each phase.
On Sunday, the moon will be in its sixth phase, called waning gibbous, which will bring its illumination between 50 and 100 percent. A brighter moon means a brighter night sky, making it a bit trickier to spot a celestial event.
At the very least, NASA says the Oroinids are surrounded by some of the brightest stars in the sky—so either way, you’ll be in store for some type of “spectacular backdrop.”
