Plan stargazing for meteor shower next week, recommend experts


Devdiscourse News Desk | Washington DC | Updated: 17-10-2019 20:43 IST | Created: 17-10-2019 20:43 IST
Plan stargazing for meteor shower next week, recommend experts
Representative Picture. Image Credit: Pixabay

A meteor shower is happening above the planet from October 2 to November 7 and experts are recommending that people should plan to stargaze to observe it themselves as it readies to peak next week.

Orionids meteor shower is expected to peak next week around Monday-Tuesday and dozens of meteors are likely to be visible in the sky throughout the night. No telescope is necessary to see Orionids shooting across the sky.

October is known to be a busy month in the world of meteor showers and is the best time to plan stargazing, especially in the US, experts have often said. As much as 7 asteroids have been seen in the month in past including Taurids, Draconids, Leonis Minorids, Camelopardalids, Aurigids, Delta Aurigids.

Getting to history, Orionid meteors are the result of debris left behind by Comet Halley, which last passed by the Earth in 1986. The debris turns into bright meteors when it interacts with the Earth's atmosphere. The Draconids and the Southern Taurids also peaked earlier this month itself.

Oriniod is considered to be one of the best meteor showers and it leaves ionized gas trails that last for a few seconds after the meteor is gone.

Meteor showers are celestial events during which numerous meteors appear in the sky. Many such events are caused by the debris left behind by comets, while some are washed out by the light of the moon, many others create beautiful meteors.

NASA recommends waking up a few hours before dawn, go outside and look up to the sky to observe meteor showers. Orionids meteor shower is visible to the night sky and a telescope is not needed.

After Oriniod, Leonid is among the most-awaited meteor showers that are expected to peak during November. It peaks around mid-November every year and dozens of meteors are visible overnight during the peak. 

Although Leonid shower is known to produce meteor storms frequently, this year is expected to be calmer.

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