Earth would be orbiting again next month to the remains and debris of the famous Comet Halley, which was destroyed in 1986, now offering us a series of spectacular shows from the heavens. Watch Orionid Meteor Shower shooting 20 shooting stars every hour on Wednesday, October 20, and view the dead comet's remains and legacy.
A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above a camping site at the Negev desert near the city of Mitzpe Ramon on August 11, 2020 during the Perseids meteor shower, which occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
Orionids Meteor Shower 2021: How and When to See 20 Shooting Stars Per Year
Every year around this time, Orionid meteors emerge when Earth passes through a region of space strewn with debris from Halley's Comet.
Space.com said the planet is approaching Comet Halley's resting site and dispersed remnants in the celestial skies. The public would be able to witness one of the most magnificent and reliable meteor shower displays from space at this time of year.
To properly appreciate the display and observe the Orionids with one's own eyes, the same Space.com report encourages people to walk far away from city and street lights, to an open place. In fact, people should be in an open location, such as a field or a long stretch of roadway, to see the meteor shower.
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Go out about 1:30 a.m. and wait 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness. According to NASA, the public is advised to just lie flat on the ground and gaze up at the black skies.
The dates and times of this meteor shower are significant for the Orionids since Comet Halley's "20 shooting stars per hour" performance will be seen. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, point your feet southeast, or northeast if you're in the Southern.
What Makes Orionids Meteor Shower and Comet Halley Special?
Two of NASA's favorite cosmic entities that skim the night sky around the Halloween timeframe are the Orionids Meteor Shower and Comet Halley. Both are significant to NASA and astronomers because they frequently occur on Earth and are associated with one of the most well-known constellations in the world, Orion.
NASA added that both heavenly creatures are also near Betelgeuse, the renowned dying and overworked star that will shortly explode in a supernova and bid farewell to the universe. The meteors are traveling at a speed of 41 miles per second, or 147,600 miles per hour. The meteor shower might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't left a trail of gas that glowed in the sky for a few seconds.
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