my northern hemisphere friends!! there is a meteor shower tomorrow from around midnight to dawn saturday!!! (maybe i'm not sure how all the timing works out) if you have a chance to find a less light-polluted area to watch some debris from halley's comet (next coming in 2061) fly across the sky, you should!
From October 2 to November 7, the Orionid meteor shower manifests itself annually. The maximum activity of the flow falls on several nights — from October 20 to 23.
The Orionids are not a very bright and noticeable shower, at least in the present era. But it is quite famous - primarily for its connection with the most popular comet in the Solar system - Halley's comet - it is its progenitor.
Most meteor showers come from comets. Approaching the Sun, they thaw, small pebbles and dust are released from their ice captivity. It's like - the ice cream has melted, but the nuts remain - they continue to move along the comet's orbit, but with slight deviations. Over time, the entire orbit of the comet is filled with meteoroid content, and its greatest concentration, of course, is near the comet itself - the source of all this.
The orbits of some comets lie in close proximity to the Earth's orbit. And when our planet flies into this meteoroid swarm, we become witnesses of starfalls. There is no need to encounter the comet itself - it is enough to meet the products of its vital activity.
The Earth crosses the orbit of Halley's comet twice a year - in May (this meeting gives rise to the Eta Aquarids or "May Aquarids" meteor shower) and in October (and this time the meteors seem to be flying at us from the constellation of Orion - Orionids). May Aquarids are traditionally brighter and more active - because in May we get more closer to the comet's orbit. But Aquarius is a southern constellation, and in the month of May it is practically invisible in the northern latitudes, so all the charm of the Eta Aquarids goes to the inhabitants of the southern hemisphere - there the Eta Aquarids are compared with our beloved Perseids (the most powerful meteor shower of the northern sky).
The Orionids are very visible in the northern hemisphere. Their radiant (a region on the celestial sphere from which shooting stars - meteors) scatter) is located within the constellation of Orion. And Orion is perfectly visible in the northern latitudes in October. But the activity of the Orionid shower is noticeably lower than the activity of the Aquarids - in October, our planet approaches the orbit of Halley's comet not so closely.
One can guess that the activity of the shower generated by a certain comet is the higher, the closer the comet itself is to the Earth, because most of the meteoroids are concentrated around it.
Note: terminology needs to be clarified. Some astronomy lovers get confused in it.
A meteoroid is a celestial body of small size - from fractions of a millimeter to several meters. Its encounter with the planet's atmosphere can cause the phenomenon of a meteor (the glow of evaporating and ionized gases) or even the precipitation of a solid residue on the surface of the planet, if the meteoroid is large enough.
A meteorite is a solid remnant of a meteoroid that has fallen to the surface of a planet.
A meteor is an optical atmospheric phenomenon caused by the heating and evaporation of the substance of a meteoroid that entered the atmosphere from outer space at high speed. (Characteristic speeds are from 20 to 100 km per second. For the Orionid stream, this is 50-70 km per second.)
A bolide is a bright meteor. Usually fireballs include meteors, the brightness of which exceeds zero magnitude (0m). There are fireballs with a brightness exceeding the full Moon, but most often they also simply burn out in the atmosphere, although it is the flight of the fireball that can end in a meteorite fallout.
I participated in observations of the Orionid meteor shower in October 1985 as part of a special expedition at the Crimean observation station. Halley's Comet was then approaching the perihelion of its orbit (perihelion is the closest point to the Sun in the orbit of a celestial body). The activity of the flow was unusually high. And every night for two weeks we counted several hundred "shooting stars". On the nights of the maximum flow - October 20, 21, 22 - about 700-800 meteors were recorded.
But now - 37 years later - Halley's comet is approaching the opposite point of its orbit - aphelion. Now it is the farthest from the Sun and from the Earth, and the concentration of meteoroids in that part of the comet's orbit where we meet it is minimal. Therefore, the peak activity of the shower is also low. It is estimated at 15-20 meteors per hour.
What is 15-20 meteors per hour?
No, it's not what you think.
Most people assume that with this amount of shower activity, they are guaranteed to see 1 meteor in 2-3 minutes of observation. But these are vain hopes.
It is assumed otherwise. Let's imagine that the radiant is located at the zenith - directly above the head of the observer ... no - above the head of a group of observers (presumably 10 people). In the region of the sky limited by a radius of 30 degrees from the zenith (and in total - 60), each observer registers a certain number of meteors, which he reports to the secretary. It happens that a certain meteor is seen by just one observer, and some events are confirmed by a large number of group members, because there is such a parameter as the attentiveness coefficient. It is different for different observers. Beginners can have 10, 15 20%. Experienced observers can notice up to 70-80% of all meteors available to the eye in the designated area of the sky. But no one sees all the meteors. And only when comparing all the evidence received from all members of the group, taking into account the personal factor of attentiveness, the total number of meteors from a certain stream is calculated for the average hour of observations. These calculations involve a correction for the state of the atmosphere, the height of the radiant above the horizon, the degree of illumination or twilight skyglow, and much more.
What is the conclusion from this?
If you're a beginner and don't watch meteors all the time - a few nights a month - your attention quotient is probably low - no more than 20%. This means that under ideal conditions (in the absence of the Moon in the sky, urban illumination, a transparent atmosphere and the location of the radiant at the zenith), you will be able to notice only every 5th meteor.
Add to this urban smog. street lights, low radiant position... well, you get the idea - if you manage to see at least one "shooting star" in an hour. You are lucky - make a wish.
But be that as it may, spending the night (or at least an hour) under the twinkling October stars is a great choice, because in addition to the meteors of the Orionid shower, meteors of other streams or out-of-stream meteors in general are regularly lined with the night sky - there are also such, because interplanetary space is by no means empty, and there are quite tiny celestial bodies in it - the size of a small stone or a berry, which, when meeting the Earth, will please you with a beautiful celestial phenomenon, and they themselves will disappear, merging forever with our planet.
Recommendations for observations
The radiant of the Orionid meteor shower is located in the northern part of the constellation Orion, near the border of the constellation Gemini. The best guide for finding the radiant in the sky is the orange-red star Betelgeuse - Alpha Orionis. The radiant will be a few degrees north of Betelgeuse. it is from this direction that meteors will fly across the sky.
The radiant will rise at about 22:00, but will rise to a height sufficient for observations only by 3:00 in the morning - it is not very effective to look earlier.
True, the Moon will also rise at about 2 o'clock in the morning, But it will not interfere much - its phase will be 20%, and the Moon will look like a thin old sickle - the brightness of the Moon will be insignificant - urban illumination is much stronger.
By the way, the next night the Moon will practically not manifest itself in any way, being in the sky only in the morning. And the flow activity will still be maximum.
It is necessary to observe meteors with a wandering eye - not clinging to individual stars, but trying to contemplate the entire sky, as far as possible. And you need to do this in maximum physical relaxation, throwing all daytime thoughts out of your head. In this sense, watching meteors is an excellent meditation, and it brings its own positive changes.
About future
In a couple of years, Halley's comet will slowly but surely begin to approach the Sun again, which means that the activity of the meteor shower, having passed the pit of oblivion, will again begin to gain activity. At first, it will be imperceptible and very slow, because now the comet is beyond the orbit of Neptune (Neptune is the most distant known planet in the solar system, but Halley's comet is now even further), and its speed is low. But closer to the middle of the century, the Orionids will again manifest themselves as a noticeable meteor shower of the northern sky, and in 2060-2061 it will pour starry rain on the mortal Earth, because it is then - in the summer of 2061 - that the most famous of the comets, Halley's comet, will visit us again.
Let's save life on Earth at least until this astronomical event!
How To View Fragments Of Halley’s Comet In This Week’s Night Sky
“Every 74-79 years, the comet returns: most recently in 1986 and next in 2061. Like all comets, fragments break off when it approaches the Sun. Cometary debris spreads out along its orbit, creating meteors upon encountering our atmosphere. Earth passes through this debris stream annually in mid-to-late October, creating the Orionids meteor shower. Unlike most periodic comets, Halley’s comet crosses Earth’s orbit twice, also giving rise to May’s Eta Aquariids.”
Every year, reliably, the best meteor showers as seen from Earth are usually August’s Perseids and December’s Geminids. However, a lesser-known but still good meteor shower is coming this week: the Orionids, which originate from the most famous comet of all: Halley’s comet. When you see these rapid, bright meteors, you’ll know you’re looking at a piece of this famous comet, which won’t be visible in Earth’s skies again until 2061.
Take a look up after the Moon sets on Wednesday or Thursday night of this week, and catch a piece of our Solar System’s most famous periodic visitor for yourself!
October is the time of year for the Orionids Meteor Shower! Pictured here, over two dozen meteors were caught in successively added exposures last October in Inner Mongolia. The featured image shows multiple meteor streaks that can all be connected to a single small region on the sky called the radiant, here visible just above and to the left of the belt of Orion. The Orionids meteors started as sand sized bits expelled from Comet Halley during one of its trips to the inner Solar System. Comet Halley is actually responsible for two known meteor showers, the other known as the Eta Aquarids and visible every May.
Next month, the Leonids Meteor Shower from Comet Tempel-Tuttle should also result in some bright meteor streaks.
