Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Overnight

reply to post by ThaLoccster


The Orionids are quite swift, at 66 km/s, which is at the upper end of the speed spectrum for objects that are in orbit around our sun. Combined with this, if you see a fainter one, it's not unusual to wonder if you really saw something with some Orionids!

You can usually confirm that it was an Orionid by extending the path of the meteor backwards in your head, and if that imaginary line leads back to the Orionid "radiant" in the constellation Orion, then it was more than likely an Orionid. Orinids will always travel away from Orion, with the exception of those seen in the radiant which would be traveling directly towards you, so they would appear not to move at all.

Unless you are very lucky, you usually won't see much from a shower like this unless you spend a little time observing.

Meteor showers are fickle, and activity usually tends to occur in "clumpy-bursts", so with a shower like the Orionids, you can observe for an hour with out seeing more than a handful, and the next hour you'll see 3 times as many.

Unfortunately, without putting in a bit of time, chances are you will miss the best any meteor shower has to offer. The flip side is that if you do spend a bit of time, your efforts will usually be rewarded. You may not always see high rates (especially with relatively low activity showers like the Orionids), but quantity is not everything by a long way!

Of course it also helps if you can find an observing site that is dark and free from light pollution, as well as having all round views that do not have obstructions that block your view of the horizon/sky.

Then it's just a case of laying flat, and looking straight up. Most people will want a sleeping bag and multiple layers of clothing to stay comfortably warm at this time of year, and a sun-lounger/recliner that goes 100% flat also saves your neck. I can't stress how important being comfortable is if you are going to be observing meteors.

In many cases, if you observe during a meteor shower, shower activity increases throughout the night and peaks just before dawn, so the later you can continue to observe the better. Although the peak times of many meteor showers are now being forecast with quite good accuracy, we still get surprises all the time.

The Orionids, which are still going strong right now for example. The peak has been unusually long and drawn out this year, so those of you who still have not seen them may yet have some time to catch some.

There is a "live" activity profile here for anyone wishing to see what the latest observed rates are. It's not real time, but it is updated frequently.