With clear skies viewers tonight have a terrific view of the stars of autumn and maybe a shooting star.

If you are outside around 9 p.m. look for the Milky Way extending overhead. The band of stars rise from the Northeast horizon, overhead, and extend down to the southwestern sky.

Cygnus, the swan, is right overhead and is richly populated with millions of faint stars.

Look down to the southwestern sky for Sagittarius, a constellation astronomers know is the center of our galaxy.

There is a good chance you'll see a straggling meteor from the Orionid Meteor shower, which peaked last night. The meteors will appear to come from the constellation with that name which rises later.