The annual Orionid meteor shower takes place on Wednesday morning after midnight. If you are up late Tuesday night you might see a few early shooting stars. But the bulk of the show will take place after midnight and well into the early morning. The peak is predicted to occur at 2 a.m. our time.
The shower is one of a dozen that we have each year. The shower is named after the constellation Orion, where the meteors appear to radiate. Looking in the southeastern sky you could see as many as a dozen meteors in an hour of watching.
Meteors are small pieces of dust and debris that enter our atmosphere at a high rate of speed and burn up. The debris has more to do with a visiting comet, Halley’s Comet than the constellation. Each year at this time the Earth passes through the orbit of the distant comet.
The bright moon will not interfere with the viewing, so this year could be a great show.
| Day | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 16 | 6:54 | 5:59 |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | 6:55 | 5:57 |
| Sun., Oct. 18 | 6:56 | 5:56 |
| Mon., Oct. 19 | 6:57 | 5:54 |
| Tues., Oct. 20 | 6:59 | 5:53 |
| Wed., Oct. 21 | 7:00 | 5:51 |
| Thurs., Oct. 22 | 7:01 | 5:50 |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | 7:02 | 5:48 |
| Day | Max (Fº) | Min (Fº) | Inches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9 | 63 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Oct. 10 | 67 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Oct. 11 | 71 | 60 | 0.00 |
| Oct. 12 | 64 | 52 | 0.00 |
| Oct. 13 | 60 | 54 | 0.22 |
| Oct. 14 | 65 | 51 | 0.30 |
| Oct. 15 | 66 | 51 | 0.01 |
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