Weekend Meteors - ORIONIDS

ORIONID METEOR SHOWER SATURDAY/SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER

A good weekend activity awaits us this weekend from midnight of Saturday 20^th to dawn of Sunday 21^st. A night-out that can be made even more exciting by the possibility of seeing a significant number of meteors, some which may even blow up as bolides. There will be no moon, so even faint meteors will be seen. The meteors will appear to be originating from the Orion constellation, near its red giant star Betelgeuse.

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The sky currently shows the majestic huge trapezium shaped Orion Constellation which will be overhead by sunrise. Within the Orion Constellation, you will see its red giant star BETELGEUSE, and next to it is the brightest star Sirius, and on the other side the bright planet Jupiter, all these three forming a line. Next to Sirius on the south you will see another bright star Canopus, which is the second brightest star in the sky.

By 4:30 am dawn of Sunday, bright Venus will also be rising in the East. So lay a blanket on your terrace and lie down and wait patiently to be dazzled by a meteor every two or three minutes and make as many wishes as the meteors you see!! At dawn, our overhead sky is moving head on into the Earth's orbit so ideal for picking up the particles and dust left behind by Haley's comet during its past passes close to Earth, the last of which was in 1986.