{"id":214142,"date":"2025-10-20T22:39:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/214142\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T22:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:39:06","slug":"orionid-meteor-shower-peaks-best-time-to-see-shooting-stars-light-up-night-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/214142\/","title":{"rendered":"Orionid meteor shower peaks: Best time to see shooting stars light up night sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Orionids will peak with the arrival of a new moon<\/a>, providing an excellent opportunity to see shooting stars<\/a> without interference from moonlight<\/a>. <\/p>\n

During Tuesday morning\u2019s peak, stargazers can expect to see up to 20 meteors<\/a> per hour in ideal viewing conditions, said Thaddeus LaCoursiere, planetarium program coordinator at the Bell Museum in St. Paul<\/a>, Minnesota<\/a>. Viewing lasts until Nov. 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeather<\/a> permitting, it will be a great show,\u201d LaCoursiere said.<\/p>\n

The Orionids are one of two major meteor showers<\/a> caused by remnants from Halley\u2019s comet<\/a>, which passes near Earth<\/a> every 75 years. Debris left by the comet leads to two major meteor showers every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the Orionids leave trains, these bright lingering streak in the sky<\/a>,\u201d LaCoursiere said.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis photo provided by NASA shows a meteor from the Orionid shower on Oct. 13, 2015 (NASA)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about the Orionids and other meteor showers.<\/p>\n

What is a meteor shower? <\/p>\n

As the Earth<\/a> orbits the sun, several times a year it passes through debris left by passing comets and sometimes asteroids. The source of the Orionids is debris from Halley\u2019s comet.<\/p>\n

When these fast-moving space rocks enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere, the debris encounters new resistance from the air and becomes very hot, eventually burning up. <\/p>\n

Sometimes the surrounding air glows briefly, leaving behind a fiery tail \u2014 the end of a \u201cshooting star.\u201d<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need special equipment to see the meteor showers that flash across the sky annually, just a spot away from city lights.<\/p>\n

How to view a meteor shower<\/p>\n

The best time to watch a meteor shower<\/a> is typically after midnight, or in the early pre-dawn hours, when there’s usually less interference from moonlight. <\/p>\n

Competing sources of light \u2014 such as a bright moon or artificial glow from lights on the ground \u2014 are the main obstacles to a clear view of meteors. Cloudless nights when the moon wanes smallest provide optimal viewing opportunities. <\/p>\n

And keep looking up, not down. Your eyes will be better adapted to spot shooting stars if you aren\u2019t checking your phone. <\/p>\n

When is the next meteor shower?<\/p>\n

The next major meteor shower, the Southern Taurids, is expected to peak early Nov. 5, when the moon is full. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-214142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}