The Orionid meteor shower peaks Oct. 21. Here's what to expect

South Africa News News

The Orionid meteor shower peaks Oct. 21. Here's what to expect
South Africa Latest News,South Africa Headlines
  • 📰 SPACEdotcom
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 46 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 22%
  • Publisher: 67%

The best time to watch for Orionid meteors will come during the predawn hours of Friday morning, Oct. 21st.

leave bright trails that remain in the sky for a few seconds or more, but most appear as just faint streaks. So, if your sky is somewhat hazy, or there are bright lights in your vicinity, or if you're not alert, you won't see many. A few have noticeable colors, in part caused by the chemicals in them, but chiefly due to their speed as they move through the upper atmosphere.

The reason is that meteoroids are moving in all directions in space, but the Earth is moving around the sun in one direction, in essence like a very fast train, speeding at 18.5 miles per second. In the evening we're on the caboose of the train — looking backward. Unless a meteoroid was going at least as fast as the train, it would never catch up. Even fast meteoroids would seem to slow down, since you are moving away from them.

In the early hours of the morning, however, the situation is reversed. You're no longer in the caboose, but have now moved up front with the engineer — on the forward side of. Now, even a slow meteor seems to be moving rapidly, because Earth is whizzing toward it at the rate of 18.5 miles per second. The only meteoroids escaping collision are those ahead of the Earth moving in the same direction with velocities exceeding 18.5 miles per second.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

SPACEdotcom /  🏆 92. in US

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Watch for fireballs: Orionids meteor shower expected to peak this weekWatch for fireballs: Orionids meteor shower expected to peak this weekWhile the Orionids meteor shower peak is on Oct. 21, the Orionids will be active through Nov. 22. NASA says that some of these Orionids can leave behind glowing 'trains,' and some faster meteors could also become fireballs. FOX13
Read more »

Watch for fireballs: Orionids meteor shower expected to peak this weekWatch for fireballs: Orionids meteor shower expected to peak this weekWhile the Orionids meteor shower peak is on Oct. 21, the Orionids will be active through Nov. 22, per NASA. Faster meteors are likely to become fireballs.
Read more »

Orionid meteor shower created by Halley's Comet peaks this week. Here's how to catch a glimpseOrionid meteor shower created by Halley's Comet peaks this week. Here's how to catch a glimpseEach time Halley’s Comet returns to our inner solar system, it scatters leftover comet particles and broken asteroid bits. Each year, Earth crosses through these trails of debris, resulting in two annual meteor showers.
Read more »

Cleveland APL reduces fees this weekendCleveland APL reduces fees this weekendLooking to add a four-legged friend to the family? Check out the deals at the APL this weekend!
Read more »



Render Time: 2025-03-13 02:21:53