Fox News: Orionid meteor shower to light up night sky through most of November

[riky]

Orionid meteor shower to light up night sky through most of November

The Orionids meteor shower peaks on Monday, but will continue to light up the sky through Nov. 22, as debris from Halley's Comet enters Earth's atmosphere.......                    ...                        ...The You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful showers of the year, could light up the sky with shooting stars through most of next month.......NASA said the Orionids peak during mid-October every year, and the meteors are known for their brightness and speed.......The ability to see the shooting stars depends on clear nighttime skies, as a bright waning gibbous moon moves between full and last quarter phases, outshining more faint meteors and reducing the number of meteors visible to sky-gazers.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, some of the Orionids leave behind glowing "trains," or incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor, which could last up to several minutes, and some faster meteors could also become fireballs.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......The Orionids meteors are pieces of the Halley's Comet and are framed by some of the brightest stars in the night sky......."Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system, its nucleus sheds ice and rocky dust into space. These dust grains eventually become the Orionids in October and the Eta Aquarids in May if they collide with Earth's atmosphere," NASA said.......At the meteor shower's peak, which is scheduled for Monday, skywatchers could see up to 15 meteors per hour, depending on where they are in the Northern Hemisphere.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......While clear skies are important, the second most crucial viewing condition is a dark sky away from light pollution.......Bill Cooke, who leads NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, suggests budding skywatchers find an area away from city lights......."Come prepared with a blanket. Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible," he said on NASA's site. "In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt, and you will begin to see meteors."......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......NASA says the Orionids are viewable You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login during the hours after midnight until dawn.......While the Orionids meteor shower peak is on Oct. 21, the Orionids will be active through Nov. 22.......It takes Halley's Comet 76 years to orbit the sun, and the last time it was visible to casual astronomers was in 1986. The comet is not expected to enter the inner solar system again until 2061, NASA said....

Source: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login