Although you probably won't see this while viewing the meteor shower tonight, you should see plenty of meteors. Scientists are predicting 60 meteors an hour during the Orionid meteor shower tonight.
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Meteor shower tonight! Orionid meteor shower begins at 1 am
Meteor shower tonight? Yep, peak viewing times for the Orionid meteor shower begins tonight (er... tomorrow) at 1 am.
By Jimmy Orr | 10.20.09
November Update: If you’re looking for information on the Nov. 16 to 17 meteor shower, check out Leonid meteor shower times: When you should look skyward
Are you ready for some meteors? Tuesday night party! Well, that’s how the song might go if Hank Williams Jr. was singing the pre-game to tonight’s Orionid meteor shower.
But as far as we can tell, Williams isn’t adding this to his Monday Night Football schedule and we couldn’t find the pre-game party anyway.
But that doesn’t mean the show’s not going to go on. Anything but. Tonight and tomorrow morning are the peak viewing times of the Orionid meteor shower.
Monitor colleague Pete Spotts suggests you don’t go to sleep tonight. Or if you do, do it now and set your alarm for 1 a.m. because that’s when — as Deoin Sanders would say — it’s “prime time.” (By the way, the 1 a.m. schedule is good no matter what time zone you live in, which makes it convenient to remember).
The viewing should be good until dawn. Right before sunrise could even be the best time to view.
That’s a lot of rocks
Although the Orionids historically have produced between 10 and 20 meteors an hour, it’s trending high.
“Since 2006, the Orionids have been one of the best showers of the year, with counts of 60 or more meteors per hour,” said Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.
Many meteor scientists believe that 2009 will be more of the same — lots of meteors.
I need GPS
That’s good news for skywatching enthusiasts. But what if you’re not an astronomer. How do you know where to look?
We advise — up.
Really, that’s all you need to know. It’s not like you are trying to find Uranus. It’s not a fixed location. The Earth is moving into the field of meteors so they can be viewed anywhere in the night sky.
And don’t worry about your house getting flattened or anything. What we’re seeing is just cosmic dust — remnants from Halley’s comet — entering our atmosphere. (If your house does get flattened though, don’t call us).
Plan of attack
To maximize your chances of seeing some meteors tonight, go to a remote location where there isn’t much light pollution. Wyoming, for example, is really good for that.
Next, let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Be patient. Don’t bother bringing a telescope as it won’t be any help. Then, sit back and relax and get ready for the show.
By the way, the Orionids picked a good night to enter our atmosphere. NASA’s Dr. Tony Phillips says it’s a gorgeous night to look up.
“The [meteor] display will be framed by some of the prettiest stars and planets in the night sky,” Phillips said. “In addition to Orionids, you’ll see brilliant Venus, red Mars, the dog star Sirius, and bright winter constellations such as Orion, Gemini and Taurus. Even if the shower is a dud, the rest of the sky is dynamite.”
Let us know how your viewing experience is or if you see any mysterious halo clouds that look like UFOs by following us on Twitter!
See also:
Make way for meteors! The Orionids are coming!
Get ready for the Perseids, a summer show of a different sort
What a full moon! And a meteor shower that’s still worth watching
<< Make way for meteors! The Orionids are coming! | MainComments
3. Kevin | 10.21.09
“To maximize your chances of seeing some meteors tonight, go to a remote location where there isn’t much light pollution. Wyoming, for example, is really good for that.”
Anyone have a supersonic jet that can go from New Jersey to Wyoming in 45 minutes?
7. Chrissy | 10.21.09
at 100am i went outside and seen NO meteors but the stars are amazing…its a beautiful picture..ill try again in a n hour…never seen a meteor shower…
8. Carlos | 10.21.09
i am trying to see some the meteor showers but i cant see a thing..is it because im in the hood
10. Noel Nguyen | 10.21.09
I’m waiting for shooting star right now. Even though school is tomorrow, I will wait so I can make my wish
11. rick leibow | 10.21.09
is the viewing time of 1 a.m. for all time zones? We live in Kauai (Hawaiian Standard time)..
thanks
rick@alohaapproval.com
12. LParit | 10.21.09
It would be helpful it someone, anyone, would publish the best time to watch according to time zones. Everyone says it will be at a certain time but never mention which time zone.
13. steven | 10.21.09
well i was kinda disappointed i counted 37 between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. fixing to load up the pics on the computer if no good ones of meteors at least i got some good ones of the clear stary sky and had some good times with my friends.
15. Mark Zimmerman | 10.21.09
I laid in my backyard for a little under 2 hours and I saw 27 meteors. It was very awesome. At least 8 of them were very bright and had long tails.
16. neetsy | 10.21.09
Houston area has too much moisture and low clouds due to Mexico’s tropical storm “Rick”. Ay carramba!
18. larry williams | 10.21.09
saw two really nice (shooting stars)and alot of corner of your eye ones too.
19. Candice | 10.21.09
Wow, I stayed up from 1:00am to 3:00am and I didn’t see any shooting stars. Not one. And I had a perfect view of the sky.
20. Dude | 10.21.09
So just how are we supposed to see anything with all the chemtrails being sprayed to hide Planet X/Nibiru, our dark star?
21. Laura | 10.21.09
I was up at 6am to see the meteor shower… It was so cold I only stayed outside for about 10-15 minutes. I saw 5 beautiful shooting stars in that time. I was just sitting on my front porch looking at the big dipper…the 5 shooting stars that I saw were right near the second and third star that make the big dipper handle. It was so pretty!
22. Jenni | 10.21.09
The article clearly says 1:00 - any time zone. I got up at 4:30 though and saw a ton! Hoping to catch a few more tonight too!
26. Richard | 10.21.09
You should be able to see them tonight as well if the skies are clear, just not as many as last night. Time zone won’t matter since the planet is flying through the field of dust.
27. Christina | 10.27.09
For the second night in a row… I saw a shooting star as I was driving home. Last night it just happened as I was driving up one hill and saw a shooting star fall straight in front of me in the sky. It happened real quick and I could tell it was rather far away. But then tonight as I was driving home, I was going up the last steep hill and suddenly saw what looked to be a shooting star again. But this one appeared to be much closer than the other one yesterday… like the distance of an airplane. I’ve watched meteor showers before and have seen shooting stars various times, but I have never seen a shooting star as close as this one was. Could it have been a meteor? (I saw it around 11:35pm PST.)
29. carl | 11.17.09
went out and saw a really bright one, only a few more. first one was spectaculer. in fargo north dakota. 2:30 to about 4:30.a/m
30. Amanda | 11.17.09
I saw Perseids last year around the same time. My fiance and I hadn’t even shook the blanket to lay it on the grass and they were flying by our eyes!! You’ll love it!!
31. vkpartking | 11.17.09
I am happy to be home in central Indiana. I do miss the incredible skies of central Oklahoma. My wife and I still smile to think of how many celestial bodies we folks miss as we remain stuck in the urban jungle. Happy viewing to all. The boss will understand if you call in tomorrow.
32. menj | 11.18.09
Oh my God!!! i realy want to see the meteor shower tonight..that wud be the most unforgetable day in my life..
33. JOHNR | 11.19.09
You keep crying about what time zone he mentions Wyoming ding dongs pay attention!
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4. Meteor shower tonight! Orionid meteor shower begins at 1 am (The Christian Science Monitor) | Tech Stories and News | All-time Aggregator Thufs | 10.21.09
5. Meteor shower tonight! Orionid meteor shower begins at 1 am (The Christian Science Monitor) | Affiliate Crunch | 10.21.09
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1. Ryan | 10.20.09
What time zone are you in?