Where and when to look for the Orionids’ spectacular meteors this month.
A fireball seen in 2020.NASA
The night skies could be more spectacular than usual this month, thanks to the Orionid meteor shower.
The annual meteor shower is considered to be one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year, known for lighting up dark skies with bright, fast meteors that can leave long-lingering light trails, according to NASA.
This autumnal meteor shower can also sometimes produce fireballs: exceptionally bright meteors that can be witnessed over a very wide area.
The Orionids earned their name by appearing to originate from the part of the sky that contains the constellation Orion, but Orionid meteors are actually fragments of dust left in the wake of the famous Halley’s Comet, which also produces the Eta Aquarids meteor shower every spring.
The 2022 Orionids are already underway and will last through November 22, peaking in the pre-dawn hours of October 21 with about 10-20 meteors per hour.
For the best chance of seeing the most spectacular meteors, NASA says to gaze at the southeastern sky about 45 to 90 degrees away from the constellation Orion. If you can’t find Orion, no problem — just face the southeastern sky and give your eyes about a half-hour to adjust to the darkness, at which point you should start seeing meteors.
You don’t need special equipment to view the Orionids; just dress warmly and head out after midnight under clear skies, as dark as possible, to where you can take in a large expanse of the night sky. Some of Michigan’s best spots for stargazing include remote lakeshores, dark sky parks, and much of the Upper Peninsula.