Samil Cabrera captured this picture of an Orionid meteor streaking over the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 21, 2022 at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Make sure you try Cabrera’s Instagram web page for extra astrophotography at https://www.instagram.com/astronycc/.
(Picture credit score: Samil Cabrera)
The Orionids placed on fairly a present this yr.
This yr’s Orionid meteor shower noticed optimum situations for catching sensible Orionid fireballs streak overhead, because the moon was solely 17% illuminated in a waning crescent phase throughout the bathe’s peak in a single day from Oct. 20 to Oct. 21.
As their title implies, the Orionids seem to originate within the Orion constellation, close to the “membership” held by Orion, the hunter. Within the Northern Hemisphere, these meteors seem within the southwestern sky, whereas skywatchers within the Southern Hemisphere can see them within the northwestern sky.
Associated: Meteor showers 2022: Where, when and how to see them
The Orionid meteor bathe is without doubt one of the extra dependable meteor showers and is thought to provide dozens of meteors per hour. This bathe is maybe one of many best-known meteor showers, resulting from the truth that it’s produced in October annually as Earth passes by the particles left within the wake of Halley’s Comet.Â
As these fragments of the comet enter Earth’s ambiance, their excessive velocity ignites the air in entrance of them because of the results of drag (friction), creating sensible streaks of sunshine that may last as long as a number of seconds as they seem to “shoot” throughout the sky.
House.com obtained quite a few pictures of this yr’s Orionid meteor bathe submitted by our readers. As you possibly can see, this yr’s bathe produced some beautiful fireballs that many skywatchers have been fortunate sufficient to catch on digicam.
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