Orionids meteor shower set for Oct. 21-22, 2007

By William Atkins
Saturday, 20 October 2007 20:36

Science - Space

The meteors should be faintly seen above the eastern horizon before midnight, but the Moon in the western sky will erase all but the most brilliant of the meteors. Several hours after midnight will begin the best time to observe, with around 5:00 a.m. predicted to be the best time to see the most meteors—when Orion is high in the sky toward the southeast.

Halley’s Comet is thought to be the origin of these meteors—from dust ejected as it orbits the Sun. The meteors will cross the Earth’s atmosphere at about 40 miles (65 kilometers) per second.

The display should repeat itself in the early mornings of Sunday and Monday, October 21 and 22, 2007. They will begin to fade in brilliance and numbers over the following days.

A sky map fixed at 4:00 a.m. October 21, 2007 and positioned looking southeast in the sky is found at: http://spaceweather.com/images2007/21oct07/skymap_north_orionids.gif.