Tonight: The Orionids Peak

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Tonight's the night. Well — tonight into tomorrow morning, to be exact.

The Orionids meteor shower peaks the night of October 21–22. If you read my Look Up post last week, you already knew this was coming. If you didn't — here's your heads-up.

These are crumbs off Halley's Comet. The same comet your grandparents read about in school — it only swings by every 76 years, but it leaves litter behind, and every October we drive through it. Those crumbs hit our atmosphere at something like 40 miles a second and burn up as meteors. Around 20 an hour at the peak.

One catch: the moon's going to be bright tonight. So here's the play, same as last week — wait until after the moon sets, then watch in the hours before dawn. Dark spot, chair or blanket, give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust. Look toward Orion. Be patient.

You don't need a telescope. You don't need to know a single constellation. Just look up.

Here's the full fall skywatching guide — the Taurids, the Leonids, December's Geminids, all of it.


 

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