Orionid Meteor Shower

http://astronomical-calendar.org.uk- 10/20/13

The Orionid radiant at 05:00 UT (04:00 BST) in the UK on the morning of October 21st looking south.

With a usual maximum of up 20 meteors per hour the Orionids are sand-grain sized remnants of Halley's comet, seen as they burn up in the upper atmosphere. In 2013 a waning gibbous moon will be in the sky and spoil the view somewhat. However Orionid meteors tend to be bright.

It is best to look away from the radiant as Orionid meteors will appear in any part of the sky, but they appear to originate from a point above and left the bright star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion the hunter. The distinctive shape of Orion will be seen in the southeastern sky early in the early morning.

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