There is more to October than Halloween that makes this month one of my favorites! I wait all year for my favorite Meteor Showers, The Orionids. I have had a convoluted relationship with Orion; I wait and look forward to this time of year when I can see him staring down at me from the sky, giving me something to love about the cold weather. The showers that radiate from him can start being seen now through the end of the month, but the peak occurs this weekend coming up; perfect timing for me to do a LIVE Weekly Wisdom Show!
Join me next Sunday, October 22nd at Noon EST for the live cards of the week, Q&A and if you like I will pull a card for you and read live on Expressions of the Universe’s Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/ExpressionsoftheUniverse/
More on the Orionids from Robert Lunsford:
Where? When? How many?
“Current Orionid rates should be currently near 10 per hour during the last few hours before dawn. This should increase to 20-25 meteors per hours near maximum activity, which occurs on October 22. Unlike most major annual showers, the Orionids have a flat maximum where strong rates occur over several nights centered on October 22. Therefore, if you are clouded out on the morning of October 22, don’t despair as good rates will continue for a few more nights. Good rates can be see equally well before the maximum too!
If you watch the same place in the sky all Orionid meteors will have the same characteristics. They will move in parallel paths and will posses the same velocity. These paths will lead back to the radiant in Orion. These characteristics change if you look somewhere else. In general, Orionid meteors will appear to be swift unless you see them near the radiant or near the horizon. Also the paths will appear shorter near the radiant and near the horizon. Therefore it is advisable to have the Orionid radiant near the edge of your field of view so that you will see longer meteors. There are also minor radiants active in Gemini, Leo Minor, and Aries this time of year.
The radiant, located on the Orion-Gemini border, rises near 2200 (10pm) local daylight saving time. This is not the best time to see them though as some of the activity will occur beyond your line of sight. I would be better to wait until after midnight when this area of the sky has risen higher into the sky. At that time Orionid meteors can be seen shooting in all directions. As is standard for most meteor showers, the best time to watch this shower will be between the hours of midnight and dawn – regardless of your time zone. With the radiant lying just north of the celestial equator, this allows the Orionids to be seen all over the Earth except from Antarctica, where daylight/twilight persists for 24 hours.
This year, the waxing crescent moon sets well before midnight on October 21, leaving the morning hours dark for meteor watching! In the predawn and dawn sky, look for Sirius, the sky’s brightest star as a guide. The bright constellation of Orion lies above Sirius and the Orionid radiant lies just to the upper left of the main part of Orion.”