There is a meteor shower through the weekend but the brilliant moon will make observing it a challenge. The Orionid Meteor Shower, which peaks Thursday night, is one of those showers that can be observed for several nights. The meteors appear to come from a spot within the constellation Orion, thus its name. However, the moon is pretty close to the constellation.

If you are out in the nights ahead, be on your guard for a meteor crossing the sky. They can appear anywhere, from north to south and from east to west. But in almost every case, the meteor will appear to radiate from Orion in east, even if Orion hasn’t yet arisen.

Under ideal conditions, one can expect to see as many as 25 meteors in an hour of watching. But one or two meteors in an evening of viewing is fine enough. The brilliant moon will continue to diminate the sky in the week ahead.

If you are up early in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, well before the sun rises, the crescent moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Leo, a constellation we associate with spring.