Jamie Carter wrote this article.
Will you be alive in 2061? If not, your only chance to see something of Halley’s Comet comes in both early May and late October each year. That is when Earth moves through streams of particles which the great comet deposited in the inner solar system in 1986. As those particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they energize and glow for a millisecond, something that happens as many as 40 times per hour–creating a meteor “shower.”
That will happen on Monday, October 21, and Tuesday, October 22, 2019. Watch for shooting stars that appear to come from the constellation of Orion the Hunter (below.) The Orionid meteor shower peaks after midnight.
A lovely sight though binoculars and easy to see with the naked eye from a dark sky site, look just above Orion the Hunter’s head. Look in the general direction of Orion’s three-star, diagonal belt, and you will see shooting stars.
Any moonless meteor shower is best enjoyed under a dark, country sky. If that is impossible, make sure there are no artificial lights in your line of sight. Even better, find a place in shadow from any artificial lights.
