Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009

peaceandlove · 10-20-2009, 09:45 PM

Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight

Robert Roy Britt
Editorial Director
SPACE.com – Tue Oct 20, 12:30 pm ET

The Orionid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show tonight into the predawn hours Wednesday, weather permitting.

This annual meteor shower is created when Earth passes through trails of comet debris left in space long ago by Halley's Comet. The "shooting stars" develop when bits typically no larger than a pea , and mostly sand-grain-sized, vaporize in Earth's upper atmosphere.

"Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.

People in cities and suburbs will see far fewer meteors, because all but the brightest of them will be overpowered by light pollution. The best view will be from rural areas (the moon will not be a factor, so dark skies will make for ideal viewing).

When and how to watch...

Continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200910...peaksovernight

orthodoxymoron · 10-20-2009, 10:05 PM

You could listen to this while you watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WlwMpBwU8

Ammit · 10-20-2009, 10:25 PM

I realy wish i could, its kicking it down with rain here, not much chance of clear skies, thankyou for the heads up anyway.

Swanny · 10-20-2009, 10:30 PM

The rain is persisting down here too

Ammit · 10-20-2009, 10:32 PM

its been on most of the day, my ducks love it but i hate it.lol

GaiaLove · 10-20-2009, 11:16 PM

LOVE the Orionids, I have been watching them since I was a kid. The last few years though have been better than usual. I'm hoping for more of the same and ill be setting my clock for 4am

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, here's where to look:

Quote:

Originally Posted by NASA

"Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour," says Cooke.

According to Japanese meteor scientists Mikiya Sato and Jun-ichi Watanabe, 2006 marked Earth's first encounter with some very old debris. "We have found that the [elevated activity of 2006] was caused by dust trails ejected from 1P/Halley in 1266 BC, 1198 BC, and 911 BC," they wrote in the August 2007 edition of Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. In their paper "Origin of the 2006 Orionid Outburst," Sato and Watanabe used a computer to model the structure and evolution of Halley's many debris streams stretching back in time as far as 3400 years. The debris that hit Earth in 2006 was among the oldest they studied and was rich in large fireball-producing meteoroids.

Repeat encounters produced good displays in 2007 and 2008—and "the meteoroids are expected to approach Earth [again] in 2009," say Sato and Watanabe. They note that these old broad streams tend to produce equally broad showers, lasting several nights around the peak. So, if clouds interfere on the 21st, try again on the 22nd or 23rd.

SteveMick · 10-23-2009, 01:38 AM

Well it seems I'm a couple of days late on this post. The cloud cover has been fairly broad these last few days here in my part of Florida, so I don't know if I will have a chance to see much of this shower.. I was very lucky to see the Perseid Meteor Shower a few months ago. I was on n empty beach at 2 a.m. and saw soo many beautiful streaks. It was quite impressive.. The mosquitos eventually found me and I had to leave sadly enough...

10-20-2009, 09:45 PM	#1
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight Robert Roy Britt Editorial Director SPACE.com – Tue Oct 20, 12:30 pm ET The Orionid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show tonight into the predawn hours Wednesday, weather permitting. This annual meteor shower is created when Earth passes through trails of comet debris left in space long ago by Halley's Comet. The "shooting stars" develop when bits typically no larger than a pea , and mostly sand-grain-sized, vaporize in Earth's upper atmosphere. "Flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere should give us dozens of meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. People in cities and suburbs will see far fewer meteors, because all but the brightest of them will be overpowered by light pollution. The best view will be from rural areas (the moon will not be a factor, so dark skies will make for ideal viewing). When and how to watch... Continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200910...peaksovernight Last edited by peaceandlove; 10-20-2009 at 11:02 PM.

10-20-2009, 10:05 PM	#2
orthodoxymoron Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lunar Base II Posts: 3,093	Re: Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 You could listen to this while you watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WlwMpBwU8

10-20-2009, 10:25 PM	#3
Ammit Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Weymouth, Dorset, UK Posts: 827	Re: Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 I realy wish i could, its kicking it down with rain here, not much chance of clear skies, thankyou for the heads up anyway.

10-20-2009, 10:30 PM	#4
Swanny I dont need a label ! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The Shire of Wilt Posts: 2,889	Re: Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 The rain is persisting down here too

10-20-2009, 10:32 PM	#5
Ammit Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Weymouth, Dorset, UK Posts: 827	Re: Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 its been on most of the day, my ducks love it but i hate it.lol

10-23-2009, 01:38 AM	#7
SteveMick Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 6	Re: Get Out: Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight 10/20/2009 Well it seems I'm a couple of days late on this post. The cloud cover has been fairly broad these last few days here in my part of Florida, so I don't know if I will have a chance to see much of this shower.. I was very lucky to see the Perseid Meteor Shower a few months ago. I was on n empty beach at 2 a.m. and saw soo many beautiful streaks. It was quite impressive.. The mosquitos eventually found me and I had to leave sadly enough...