"Old Faithful"

[Gerritt]

Brian Handwerk

for National Geographic News

October 17, 2007

 

Halley's comet will produce a magnificent meteor shower this week, though the celestial body itself won't return to Earth's skies for more than 50 years.

 

The annual Orionid meteor shower, which peaks this weekend, is spawned by fragments of the universe's most famous comet.

 

At its peak, this weekend's shower may produce up to 15 or 20 meteors an hour that can be seen by the naked eye.

 

Although the Orionids are not the most spectacular of sky shows, meteor enthusiasts look forward to the cosmic event for its consistency in timing and intensity.

 

"They are pretty much an Old Faithful type of reliable shower," said Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine.

 

And this year the moon is being especially cooperative, setting during the wee hours to produce darkened skies and the potential for more meteor sightings.

 

"We have a window of moonless sky, so this is one for which regular meteor observers are going to be out," MacRobert said.

 

The shower should peak during the early morning hours of October 21 but will be visible from October 20 to 24.

 

The who are curious to see the show might want to brew some coffee. The Orionids are best spotted in the hours between moonset—typically well after midnight—and the start of dawn some 90 minutes before sunrise.

 

Echoes of Halley's

 

The Orionids are the result of Halley's comet shedding a layer of dust particles as it orbits the sun.

 

Earth's orbit crosses the comet's path each year, and our planet is now passing through this cosmic belt of dust.

 

As they enter Earth's atmosphere at some 42 miles (67 kilometers) a second, the fragments superheat the air molecules along their path, and the energy makes those molecules glow with incandescent light.

 

Though they put on a good show, the comet remnants are surprisingly tiny.

 

"Most of the things that make a nice, good visual meteor are the size of a grain of sand," said Scott Sandford, an astrophysicist at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California.

 

"This is a wide stream, so it will take a couple of days to completely pass through," Sandford added.

 

People all over Earth will have a chance to see the meteors, he noted.

 

"Meteors are hitting all the time," Sandford said, "even in daylight, although it's too bright to see them."

 

Meteors streak across the sky some 50 to 70 miles (80 to 110 kilometers) aloft, but they are easily visible from the ground.

 

To Earthly observers, the trajectories of the Orionids seem to point back to the constellation Orion—but the objects may appear anywhere in the sky.

 

First-time observers need no special equipment. Experts suggest simply gazing toward the sky's darkest region, avoiding as much artificial light as possible, because it dims the fainter meteors.

 

The most challenging aspect of enjoying the shower may be weather-related—especially in northern latitudes.

 

Observing the Orionids means being outside during the chilliest part of the night.

 

"Meteor watching is one of the coldest activities known to man," MacRobert cautioned. "So bundle up."

 

 

The full article an images can be found here... National Geographic

 

Gerritt.

[carp-starter]

Thank you Gerritt. Without your post, I would not have remembered this event even though I have the info filed. I guess I have to schedule the date.

 

Thanx - carp-starter

[pameladallaire]

Thanks for reminding me, BUT, I don't remember the last time I was able to watch the sky. It has rained up here all summer and is still raining! Yuck. More bad weather on the way.

 

I'm actually praying for snow so we can dry out.

 

Pam