orionids
It is one of my favorite meteorological times of the year, when the Orionid Meteor Showers put on a spectacular show.
If you love the stars like I do, you will have been looking at watching Orion all month and will be able to catch some strays through the first week of November, but now is the time they are reaching their peak. Orion will rise above the horizon around 8-10 p.m. EST in the East/North-East and travel West across the sky as the night passes. He is high in the sky towards the South when I wake up in the morning around 6 a.m. and it is still dark out. I would say between 5-6 a.m. is the best time to view the showers. Bundle up because it has been cold out this week, but it is so worth it. This is what the showers will look like
It
showers
Orion is one of the most prominent constellations of the Winter sky, but if you are still unsure of what it looks like, here you go …look for the 4 corners and the 3 stars in the middle, it is that simple
orion
And a little more help…Here is a weather map for the United States and the Northern Hemisphere. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, look 1 day earlier after midnight and Orion will appear upside down like the photo shown below.
orion for australia
I do not know what it is about these showers, but I just love them and they never disappoint and they give me an incentive to wake up a little early and enjoy my coffee under the stars.
Oh, 1 more quick tip. I love the Free phone app -Google Sky Map. You cannot go wrong with this app, just hold it up and it give you all of the constellations, star names, planets and it will even show you the radiant point for the meteor showers. Give it a try, I use it all of the time.