The Orionid meteor shower reaches the peak of its activity this week. On the night of 21-22 October, Earth will plough through the central portions of a dust cloud that was once part of the tail of Halley’s comet.
During the peak of the Orionids up to 20 meteors an hour may be seen from a dark site. The Orionids are so named because they appear to be coming from the Orion constellation.
The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 03.00BST on 22 October. By this time, the meteor shower radiant will have reached a reasonable altitude in the sky. The meteors will appear to emanate from this point and could fly in any direction.
No special equipment is needed to view the meteors, just a warm coat and some patience. Meteor showers tend to reward those who spend an hour or more under the stars, so your eyes become well adjusted to the dark, maximising your ability to see even fainter meteors.
From the southern hemisphere, the radiant is in the northern sky, and generally placed a little higher in the night sky at this time of year, so seeing the shower should be easier.
