Orionid Meteor Shower 2022: Orionid could deliver extra bright meteors & fireballs on 20 - 21 October 2022
The Orionids are considered one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year, peaking around mid-October each year.
The Orionid meteor shower 2022 is active throughout October and November (Sept. 26 to Nov. 22, 2022) with a peak on the night of October 20 - 21.
Comet of Origin - 1P/Halley
Every year, Orionid meteors appear when Earth passes through an area of space littered with debris from Halley's Comet.
Hence, Orionids become visible each October when Earth passes through Halley's comet's dusty, ice-filled debris trail.
Orionid meteors are famous for their brightness and speed. These meteors are fast and travel into Earth's atmosphere at 148,000 mph (66 km/s).
Fast meteors can leave glowing "trains" (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) that can continue for many seconds to minutes. Fast meteors can also occasionally turn into fireballs.
Peak Activity Meteor Count -
Approximately 15 meteors per hour in moonless skies.
Meteor Velocity -
41 miles (66 kilometers) per second
Radiant - Just to the north of constellation Orion's bright star Betelgeuse
The constellation Orion is the radiant, or point in the sky from which the Orionids appear to originate. Orion is also the source of the shower's name: Orionids.
It is important to note that the constellation is not the source of the meteors.
The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to help viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. (Source - NASA)