Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Skywatchers can glimpse a celestial show tonight as the Orionid meteor shower hits its peak.

The Orionid shower actually began Oct. 2 and will continue through Nov. 7, but tonight is considered the peak night for viewing, according to officials at the Griffith Observatory.

The best viewing times will be after “moonset” at around 12:30 a.m., continuing until dawn at just before 6 a.m.

Skygazers could see as many as 20 meteors per hour as they stream out of their “radiant point” in the club of the constellation Orion the Hunter.

The Orionids are considered among the more popular meteors, since they are actually particles shed by the galaxy’s best known comet -- Halley’s Comet. The particles can be seen streaking across the sky as they hit our planet’s atmosphere at about 41 miles per second.

For people who can’t stay awake this week, another meteor shower -- the Leonids -- is scheduled to begin Nov. 6. That shower will continue until Nov. 30. Those meteors, which are particles from the Tempel-Tuttle Comet, will also be best seen between midnight and dawn, with the best viewing nights expected to be Nov. 18-19.

As the name suggests, the meteors will be seen emanating from the “sickle” of the Leo the Lion constellation. About 12 meteors per hour can be expected during the Leonid shower.

--City News Service; Image via NASA