Watch Orionides Meteor Shower, Comet Hartley, Andromeda Galaxy and Orion Nebula 17-25 October 2010
The Orionids - By Mr Terentius Rugumisa
The Orionids is a mild shower producing about 20 meteors per hour during their peak. This shower normally peaks on the 21st, but it is highly irregular. A good show could be experienced on any morning from October 20th through 24th, and some meteors may be seen any time from October 17th to 25th.
The best time to look is before sunrise on Wednesday, Oct. 21st. That's when Earth encounters the densest part of Halley's debris stream. Observing is easy: Wake up a few hours before dawn, brew some hot chocolate, go outside and look up. No telescope is required to see Orionids shooting across the sky. See: http://www.meteorshowersonline.com/orionids.html
Note on Meteor Shower watching by Dr Jiwaji:
Regarding the position of the Moon this year (2010), it will be setting just before 4 am. After that, the skies will be much darker, especially for those in the cities where light pollution lights up the night atmosphere.
So the best time to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower would be early in the morning before sunrise. Anyway, the best time to watch meteors showers is just before sunrise since at dawn the earth is rushing straight into the part where the space dust is concentrated. The point to watch in the sky is the overhead sky, where the Orion Constellation will have risen to.
Comet Hartley, Andromeda Galaxy and Orion Nebula - By Dr N. T. Jiwaji
Not only that we can see the Orionid meteors, this is also the best time to pick out Comet Hartley in the sky. It is close to the Star Capella in the northern skies (see attached sky maps). If you have a pair of binoculars or even a small telescope, it will be even more impressive.
You should also use this opportunity to make out the cloudy patch in the northern sky as marked as "Great Nebula in Andromeda". This is none other than the Andromeda Galaxy which is more than 2 million light-years away, so has become the farthest object visible to the naked eyes. Of course with a pair of binoculars or even a small telescope, the oval shape is clearly visible.
The area in the middle of the Orion Nebula is also worth noting since it is also an area of interstellar clouds and is a visible nursery of new stars. In the attached sky map it is marked as "Great Nebula in Orion".
Successful watching of Meteors, Comet and Galaxy and Nebula.
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