Orionid Meteor Shower Will Light Up The Skies Tonight, Are You Ready To Watch?

The Orionid meteor shower is ready to make a comeback on Friday night i.e. tonight. As per reports, at least 25 shooting stars can be observed an hour, if the sky is clear.

According to astronomers, the brightness of the moon tonight can however overshadow the meteor show. "Turns out tonight the moon will park itself very close to the Orionid radiant and completely wash out the Orionid meteors," said Bill Cooke who is an astronomer from NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Incidentally, the Orionids can be seen with the naked eye and there is no need for telescopes.

The Orionids, named after the Orion constellation, occur every year when the Earth travels through an area in space covered with the debris of Halley's Comet. As a result, stargazers are able to see shooting stars, which travel at 41 miles per second, lighting up the sky. This year the celestial fireworks can be seen on October 21 and 22, as per NASA.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will stream the event live starting from 10 pm EDT.  This will make it easier to watch the meteor shower, especially for those living under light-polluted night skies or experiencing bad weather. In addition to viewing the Orionid Meteor Shower tonight, stargazing enthusiasts can also spot planets Venus and Jupiter, the constellations Orion, Taurus and Gemini as well as the "Dog Star" Sirius. If you miss the chance to witness the Orionids live this year, you can wait for the Leonids Meteor Shower that will take place next month in November.

Meteors are space rocks that enter the atmosphere of our planet at various points of time. During entry the rock becomes so hot that it falls towards the Earth, and the process leaves a bright streak behind the rock due to the glowing hot air - leading to the creation of a shooting star. When the Earth encounters several such meteors, it is known as a meteor shower.