Orionids meteor shower, 21st & 22nd October

Yet another meteor shower is upon us, the Orionids. This time the peak rate is not as high as the previous Draconids but at a peak rate of about 25 per hour it should ensure that you will glimpse a few.

earthsky.org...

As usual, the best time to watch the Orionid meteor shower will be between the hours of midnight and dawn. Keep in mind that the moon is waning – or getting smaller by the day. You’ll see a smaller moon on Saturday morning than on Friday morning, for example. It’s possible that will mean you’ll see more meteors on Saturday morning, but, as always, you never know.

You might see some meteors on either side of the peak mornings, too, or during this week leading up to the peak.

Where do I look to see the Orionids?

Meteors in annual showers are named for the point in our sky from which they appear to radiate. The radiant point for the Orionids is in the direction of the constellation Orion the Hunter. Hence the name Orionids.

If you trace the paths of these Orionid meteors backward, they do seem to stream from the constellation Orion. But you don’t need to know this constellation to see the meteors. The meteors often don’t become visible until they are 30 degrees or so from their radiant point – and remember, they are streaking out from the radiant in all directions. So the meteors will appear in all parts of the sky.

That’s why it’s best to find a wide-open viewing area than to look in any particular direction. Sometimes friends like to watch together, facing different directions. When somebody sees one, they can call out “Meteor!”

How many Orionid meteors will I see?

The word shower might give you the idea of a rain shower. But few meteor showers resemble showers of rain.

Meteor showers are nearly always more subtle than that, and the Orionid shower isn’t as rich a meteor shower as, for example, the Perseids in August or the Geminids in December. On years when the moon is out of the sky during the shower’s peak (not this year), you can expect to see about 15 to 20 meteors per hour at the peak. In 2011, the moon will drown the fainter Orionids from view and decrease the number of meteors you see.

It's also a good idea to keep an eye on a few sites to keep you informed when things start peaking.
www.imo.net...
www.meteorscan.com...
www.spaceweatherradio.com...

Just a little observation report I have just been out for 20-30 minutes and I spotted one meteor. It's still early in the night though it should be better seeing after midnight. I'll try later on again.

The last report submitteed to IMO mention a zph of 16 which is good early activity considering it's not at peak yet.
www.imo.net...

Once it get's dark for those in the US tonight and tomorrow nights are good times for observing.

reply to post by pazcat


Thank you very much for this, it would have slipped my mind.
I haven't done much in the way of star gazing this year, but was lucky enough to see a green tinged meteor on July 30 around 18:30 near Leo. It was near the most amazing thing.
Also, last night saying goodbye to some friends, I glanced up to see what looked like a red tinged meteor descending and dissintegrating through Taurus, between Jupiter and Orion.
Quite lucky I am (sometimes) was out earlier for half an hour... nuthin'. Going to get some java and have another look, skies are nice and clear here.

Is it just me or has this year been very active? Concerning the rate of meteors during showers.

I never tire of seeing meteors, I just saw another while looking out the window. It's always a little bit exciting.

Rates have been high on a couple of showers this year for sure, I should check in on that and get back to you.

Well just spent an hour out there for one meteor, shame it seemed promising but to be fair we aren't at peak yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, I have to be up early so can't be out all night like I'd like.

Anyone watching on the east coast of america? I just spent awhile outside and couldn't see a thing...there is also a bit of light pollution in the direction of orion though...

I've seen two so far now!

reply to post by darkendmetal


You will find that the number of Orionids you observe tends to increase the later you observe. This is because the radiant (where the meteors belong to a particular shower seem to travel away from), which is in Orion for the Orionids, has to be high in the sky for you to see the maximum number of meteors possible, and it is highest in the sky around 2-3 AM local time for observers at mid-northern latitudes.

You'd also likely see more (and longer) meteors if you looked away from Orion. Orionids radiate away from Orion, but this does not mean that they start to become visible near Orion, although some will.

Most experienced meteor observers prefer to lie flat (a camp-bed or similar + sleeping bag/s) and face straight up with perhaps a slight bias towards the meteor shower radiant. If you do this you can catch almost every meteor, and your peripheral vision should catch any bright meteors close to the horizon.

Ideally you want to pick a site where there are no large obstructions on the horizon. ie away from tall trees, buildings, etc. Getting away from light pollution will help a lot too.

It's well worth the effort when meteor observing to find a good dark-sky observing site. You can easily double the number of meteors you observe by doing this, even if you are only in a small town. Many of the more interesting meteors I have seen have been relatively faint, and would not have been seen had I not been observing well away from any light pollution.

Keep in mind that not all meteors that you see will be Orionids. There are other meteor showers that are active at the same time as the Orionids, as there are throughout the year. There are also random or "sporadic meteors" constantly hitting our atmosphere. Orionids will always travel from the Orionid radiant in Orion (See the link in pazcat's OP for the dagram), so there is a good chance if you see a meteor that is doing this, that it's an Orionid.

In my post the other day , I said I'd get some coffee and head out there... stood outside for half an hour watching the clouds role in Then, last night as jupiter was rising, dragging Orion up with him, who would join the party, again? Cumulus and his buddies Hopefully tonight (saturday night) will be THE night for me and anyone else on the east coast of SA.
Pleasant viewing!

reply to post by Jimjolnir


I went out and got a couple but that was it tried again last night and saw zero, but as C.H.U.D said best time is a bit later on when Orion has fully risen. Other people reported seeing a few though, I was hoping the camera might of picked up one I missed but no dice.

Keep your eye out for that satellite!

reply to post by BluePillOrRedPill


For me there are no visible ROSAT passes today, it'll only be visible if it's re-entering and estimates are 11 hours from now.

Was out for about a half hour, 3:30am. Didn't see any activity. Cloudy here almost all week long.
Will give it a go tonight.

The skies finally cleared up! Saw a handful already.
Just a reminder for those who like to view meteors.

reply to post by C.H.U.D.


Excellent tips, C.H.U.D. Hopefully I will see more during the next meteor shower...

reply to post by pazcat


I was *lucky to have passed out early saturday night... I awoke at 1:30am (sunday morning) and remembered to go out I watched for an hour or more and saw 7 of 'em, two of which were directly within Orion. Most were around Taurus and a few about 40 degrees of arc to the east of Orion.

I remember one shower I saw in about 2008, I saw 13! That's what got me really interested.

Thanks for the thread pazcat.