Orionids meteor shower to light up night sky

Barring cloudy skies or thunderstorms, stargazers can expect a treat starting Wednesday night from the Orionid meteor shower - leftover bits of the famed Halley's Comet that enter and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

PAGASA hinted fireballs may be seen during the meteor shower since the Orionids are very fast. The Orionids may be active from Oct. 17 to 25 and will likely peak Oct. 21 to 22, it added.

 

"The Orionids are fast meteors and also have fireballs. The radiant of the shower, will be observed north of Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, the Mighty Hunter," PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando had noted in the agency's astronomical diary.

 

A separate article on Space.com said the meteor shower will likely peak this weekend, and the show could be "dazzling for observers with clear skies."

 

It said the Orionid meteor shower will reach its zenith during the night between Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 20 to 21) as the Earth plows through debris shed by Halley’s Comet on its path around the Sun.

 

"The most impressive display should come a few hours before dawn Sunday, when our planet hits the densest patch of Halley’s detritus," said Space.com's report.  

Bill Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said flakes of comet dust hitting the atmosphere "should give us dozens of meteors per hour."

 

Also, Space.com said the moon will be just five days removed from its new phase on Saturday night, and it will not show up in the pre-dawn skies early Sunday.

 

"Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour," Cooke said. — DVM, GMA News