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The annual Orionid meteoroid shower — a cold result ofthe trip Halley ’s comet makes around the sunevery 76 years , on average — will peak this calendar week just as the celebrated constellation it ’s named after wage increase into the autumn sky .
participating from Sept. 26 through Nov. 22 , the Orionids will peak in the early hours of Monday , Oct. 21 , when around 23 " shoot stars " are anticipate per hr , according to theAmerican Meteor Society . The precise summit is foretell to come about at 1 a.m. EDT ( 0500 GMT ) .
An Orionid meteor shoots through the Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, California.
However , a wane gibbous moon will be in the sky for most of the Nox , providing less - than - idealistic viewing precondition . ( Thefull " Hunter ’s moon"rises day before , on Oct. 17 . ) According to theAmerican Meteor Society , the bright moonshine will " severely hamper " survey of this exhibit . Therefore , you credibly wo n’t want to bother recover dark sky to view this year ’s outcome . Rather , it may be more advantageous to watch the 2024 Orionids from home , where you could hope to see a particularly shiny shot star .
According toNASA , the Orionids are one of the most beautiful showers of the twelvemonth . These meteors are known for their brightness and stop number . The Orionids are swift proposer , predicted to strike Earth ’s ambiance at 41 Swedish mile per second ( 66 kilometers per second ) , or around 148,000 miles per hour ( 238,000 km / h ) .
Related : Halley ’s comet has begun its comeback journeying to solid ground
Meteor showers are do by clouds of dust and debris leave in the innersolar systemby comets as they enter and leave to coil around the sun . As Earth flies through them , its air strikes the material , stimulate shooting stars .
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The Orionids are one of two annual shooting star showers triggered by Halley’scomet , the only know defenseless - middle comet that can theoretically be see twice in one human lifetime . Last in the inner solar organisation in 1986 and next due to visit in 2061 , Halley ’s comet also get theEta Aquarid shooting star exhibitioner , which peak in other May each class . Both showers can be realise from both the Southern and Northern hemispheres .
Despite their far - off origin , the Orionids appear to come from a speckle of sky close toBetelgeuse , a red elephantine ace in the constellation Orion . The configuration is well have a go at it for Orion ’s Belt , which make up three equally spaced stars : Alnitak , Alnilam and Mintaka . Also in the region are some of the brightest stars in the night sky , such as Sirius , Rigel , Procyon and Capella . Orion will reach its in high spirits point in the sky around 2 a.m. in the Northern Hemisphere during the vizor of the Orionids .
