Socialpost

Complete News World

Most meteors appear on these nights

Most meteors appear on these nights

  1. Home
  2. Let's know

In October, we can see meteors in the sky again. Orionid meteors are fast, but viewing them will be complicated in 2024.

MUNICH – When the nights get longer again in October and start early, it's a good time to do it Shooting stars To calculate. The Orionids' periodic stream of shooting stars runs almost all of October — but faces a problem in 2024: moon At most, more than half of it is still illuminated around the meteor, and it is in the sky almost all night. The moonlight is likely to be obscured by many shooting stars. But with a little luck, you can still catch one or two orionid meteors in the sky.

name: Orionides
He writes: A periodic stream of meteors
pedigreed: Comet 1P/Halley
Activity period: From October 2 to November 7
maximum: October 21
Shooting stars per hour (ZHR): 20
Star shooting speed: 237,600 kilometers per hour
Source: Al-Nayyak International Organization

Orionid shooting stars are formed by comet 1P/Halley

the Appearance of Orionid shooting starsWhen the Earth passes through a cloud of dust once a year Comet 1P/Halley stayed in space. Tiny dust particles penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and cause the glow that is seen on Earth as a shooting star. Orionid meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Orion; More precisely, the proximity of the bright star Betelgeuse is considered a meteor radiant. Betelgeuse is also of great interest for research.

However, this doesn't mean that you should only set your sights on the Orion constellation to see meteors. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky – if you trace their path, they'll very likely land near the star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion. The Orionids are a very fast stream of shooting stars: the speed of the meteors is 66 kilometers per second – this equates to an unimaginable speed of 237,600 kilometers per hour.

Orionid maximum on October 21: Up to 20 meteors per hour – theoretically

Orionid meteors race across the sky from October 2 to November 7; Experts have set the maximum meteor flow to be October 21. The Earth then crosses the densest part of the dust path in space. The International Meteor Organization expects a maximum of about 20 meteors per hour. However, this value, called the zenith hour rate (ZHR), does not refer to the meteor that is actually visible, but rather everything that can be observed within an hour under ideal observing conditions.

Orion meteors can be seen in the sky in October. (archive photo)
Orion meteors can be seen in the sky in October. (Archive photo) © imago Images/ZUMA Wire/Gene Blevins

However, ideal observing conditions are nearly impossible – especially with a relatively full moon, which is also close to radiant. The moon rises in the east around 9 p.m. on the evening of the Orionide maximum. At around 11 p.m., Betelgeuse rises over the horizon to the east, followed by the entire Orion constellation. Orion and the Moon move together across the sky throughout the night, and you won't be able to see many meteors in these conditions. (unpaid bill)

See also  Multiple sclerosis: Researchers in Vienna have found the basis for a vaccine