A STUNNING meteor shower is set to reach its peak this week, meaning you could see dozens of bright shooting stars per hour.
The Orionids is one of the best meteor showers to watch so if you’re a budding stargazer just follow the steps below.
2
How to see the Orionid meteor shower
The best time to see the Orionids will be on October 21 just after midnight.
However, they should be very bright from around October 20 – 22.
The meteors appear to radiate from the Orion constellation but you should be able to spot them all over the sky.
Orionid meteors actually become visible in our skies every year from around October 2nd until November 7.
2
They are just much more visible around the peak and in the very early hours of the morning.
You could try downloading a sky scanning app to locate the Orion constellation but it isn’t necessary to look in one particular part of the sky.
The Orionid meteor showers are one of the most spectacular astral shows of the year.
When the weather is good and there is limited light pollution, you should be able to see the meteors with the naked eye.
Nasa dubs the Orionid meteor shower as “one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year”.
Each hour about 20 meteors zoom through the skies, at speeds 148,000 mph, the Orionids are one of the most impressive events in the sky’s calendar.
It happens 60 miles up in space, when the Earth moves through a cloud of thousands and thousands of space rocks which would be left behind by the famous Halley’s Comet.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
Elon Musk’s Starlink ‘internet satellites’ caught ruining footage of last week’s rare Unicorn meteor shower
CAN’T HANDLE THE HEAT
Atlantic Ocean hottest in 3,000 years as experts warn of ‘extinction’
RED PLAN-IT
Stunning photos of Mars as it makes close approach to Earth – see it tonight
HORROR-SCOPE
You’ve been reading the wrong horoscope for years because the stars have moved
WORLDY
Dozens of habitable planets ‘BETTER for life than Earth’ discovered ‘nearby’
ET, PHONE HOME!
The mysteries we need to solve to prove the existence of aliens
TIDAL TERROR
Sea level ‘doomsday’ simulator reveals whether YOUR home would be wiped out
In other space news, a Nasa rocket launched to the Moon in 1966 has hurtled back into view from Earth, according to scientists.
SpaceX is getting ready for a public test of its Starlink satellite internet service.
And, ancient asteroid Bennu contains the ingredients for life, according to Nasa experts.
Will you be stargazing this week? Let us know in the comments…
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
