Orionid meteor shower: Best way to see meteors

Stars
Meteor shower FILE PHOTO: Meteor showers will zoom through the early morning sky before dawn this week. (astrosystem - stock.adobe.com)

Stargazers have been looking up for the past few weeks, hoping to get a glimpse of the Orionid meteor shower. But this week is the peak.

The meteor shower is active from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7, the American Meteor Society said, with the peak happening in the early morning of Oct. 21 to 23 as the Earth passes through the remnants of Halley’s comet, NASA said.

EarthSky said you should be able to see at least 20 meteors an hour, with them zooming across the sky at up to 148,000 mph.

To catch the meteor shower, you’ll have to get up really early or stay up really late. The best viewing will start at 1 a.m. and go until dawn, USA Today reported.

You will want to find an open area where you can simply look up.

Find Orion and look for the red star Betelgeuse, Space.com said.

Once you find the star, "pick a patch of sky 40 degrees away in the direction of your local zenith, which is the point directly above your head. Remember, the width of your outstretched fist accounts for roughly 10 degrees in the night sky," Space.com explained.

When the Orionids are done, don’t rush to put away the telescope. There are still other meteor showers happening this year.

  • Southern Taurids: Nov. 4-5
  • Northern Taurids: Nov. 11-12
  • Leonids: Nov. 16-17
  • Geminids: Dec. 13-14
  • Ursids: Dec. 21-22

CNN said there are also two full supermoons left this year:

  • Beaver Moon: Nov. 5
  • Cold Moon: Dec. 4
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