Moonlight may hamper views of the Orionid meteor shower, debris of Halley’s comet

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Orionids — one in every of two annual meteor showers from Halley’s comet — peak early Monday. A vivid waning moon could make them troublesome to identify.

The Orionid meteor bathe might be unpredictable. It shines like a fireworks show in some years, however is pretty gradual in different years.

This extremely variable bathe could end in anyplace from 20 to 60 seen meteors per hour below splendid viewing situations, mentioned NASA’s Invoice Cooke.

This 12 months’s peak exercise occurs on an evening when a waning moon is 83% full. The bathe lasts via November 22.

Right here’s what to know concerning the Orionids and different meteor showers.

What’s a meteor bathe?

A number of meteor showers happen yearly and also you don’t want particular tools to see them.

Most meteor showers originate from the particles of comets. The supply of the Orionids is Halley’s comet.

When rocks from area enter Earth’s ambiance, the resistance from the air makes them very popular. This causes the air to glow round them and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them — the tip of a “taking pictures star.”

The glowing pockets of air round fast-moving area rocks, starting from the scale of a mud particle to a boulder, could also be seen within the evening sky.

“Halley’s comet doesn’t go away the identical numbers of particles behind every year,” making it laborious to foretell what sort of present viewers will see, mentioned Cooke.

Find out how to view a meteor bathe

Meteor showers are normally most seen between midnight and predawn hours.

It’s simpler to see taking pictures stars below darkish skies, away from metropolis lights. Meteor showers additionally seem brightest on cloudless nights when the moon wanes smallest.

And your eyes will higher tailored to seeing meteors in the event you aren’t checking your telephone. “It ruins your evening imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Cooke.

When is the subsequent meteor bathe?

October has been an lively time for celestial sightings together with the newest supermoon and the comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas.

The meteor society retains an up to date record of upcoming giant meteor showers, together with the height viewing days and moonlight situations.

The subsequent large one is the Southern Taurid meteor bathe, which peaks in early November.

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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Instructional Media Group. The AP is solely chargeable for all content material.