The Orionids Meteor Shower Peaking Right Now
Look up in the night sky for a spectacular meteor shower this week. The Orinonids meteor shower takes place across October and peaks in the early hours of the morning.
Thanks to Halley’s Comet
A meteor shower is the result of small chunks of rock coming off the famous Halley’s comet.
Halley’s comet, which is slowly transversing the solar system around the sun, was last visible from Earth in 1986.
We won’t be able to see it with the naked eye until 2061. Every year Earth passes through the long tail of the comet and the Orionids meteor shower is the result.
How to view the Orionids from Perth?
The best time to view the metoer show is to wake up early. An hour or so before dawn, when light from the moon begins to wane, you should be able to see lots of bright fireballs in the sky.
Typically, the Orionids appear between the Orion and Gemini constellations.
These can be identified through a smartphone app like ‘Night Sky‘ – visible in the north to northeast of the sky from SW Western Australia at this point of the year.
This peak time will produce around 10 to 20 meteors per hour.
Meteor on Camera
If you want to try and capture some classic shots on your camera, it’s recommended you set up on a tripod or steady surface and add a 30 second exposure, on the widest possible aperture lens setting, with an ISO of about 1600.
You simply need to keep shooting continuously and with luck, you’ll have one or two meteors and even more in your frame.
Video: Orionids meteor shower
We love our celestial events at So Perth, here’s some more sweet content for you:
List of 2019 Astronomical Events
For more cool space stuff, we recommend Perth Observatory.
