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Night owls and early birds: Orionid meteor showers peak on Tuesday

You won’t be able to see Halley’s comet with the naked eye until 2061, according to Griffith Observatory’s Sky Report, but you can see “pieces of the famous comet” in the form of meteors between 2 a.m. and 5:38 a.m. Tuesday (Oct. 21) as part of the Orionid meteor showers that began earlier this month.

The shower reaches its “expected maximum,” the report says, on Tuesday morning. However, moonlight may impede the “dark-sky rate of 20 meteors per hour.”

The StarDate website, produced by the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, gives this helpful hint to first-time stargazers: “Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.”

In the sky, look east of the “figure” of Orion (shown above). Of course, if you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, the position is almost reversed — and you would look south from Orion.

So what’s the best place to see the show? Find some dark destinations that are perfect for meteor viewing. And watch a video ton how to meteor watch.

– Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Image: stardate.org]

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 4:12 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, California's Central Coast, Catalina Island, Eco-Travel, Family & Kids, Los Angeles, Monterey Peninsula, News, Tips & Advice, Sierra Nevada, Sky watching, Space travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

4 Comments on “Night owls and early birds: Orionid meteor showers peak on Tuesday”

Robbie F Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 4:16 pm
tonight at 2am? 0ctober 21 st 2008 I am busting out the telescope!

I haven’t heard much of this on the news or from anyone. odd? I am sharing the good news!
Robbie F Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 4:22 pm
wait a minute? i Hope it didn’t mean it was This morning!!! Meaning i had to stay up really late on the 21st of oct and seeing the meteors after 11pm that night…. 12am,1am,2am!! 21ST.

That would mean i missed it!!! nooo!!
Robbie F Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Opps i mean’t I had to stay up really late on the 20th of oct, that night…
Robbie F Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 8:32 pm
http://www.latimes.com/video/?slug=la-trw-meteorshower-vid

The video says the last night will be the 22nd 2008 OF THIS morning…