
Look Up For One of the Best Fall Meteor Showers in Central New York
Look up at the night sky for one of the best meteor showers of the fall season in Central New York.
The Orionids meteor shower will appear overnight from Wednesday, October 20 to Thursday, October 21 and it should be better than the Draconid meteors earlier this month. It's also your only chance to enjoy the famous Halley's Comet before it returns to our inner solar system in 2061, according to Accuweather.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth plows through a field of debris left behind by an asteroid or comet, and the parent comet for the Orionids is none other than Halley’s Comet.
The Orionids usually produce about 20 meteors per hour but a full Hunter's Moon could have an impact. Light from the moon will make it hard to see some of the dimmer shooting stars. You may only catch 5 to 10 per hour this year.
The best time to watch will be during the second half of the night. The best way to watch is to focus on the dark sky and avoid looking at the moon, your cell phone, or other sources of light.
Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate. There are a few clouds expected overnight in Central New York so you may catch even fewer shooting stars.
If you miss the Orionids overnight, there are several more meteor showers next month. The Southern Taurids meteor shower in the first week of November and the Northern Taurids during the second week of the month. Both are known for producing incredibly bright fireballs but only a few shooting stars.
The best of three will be the Leonids, which will peak November 17 and bring around 10 to 15 meteors per hour.