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Re: (meteorobs) the lowly Orionids
free@auhsdot edu wrote:
> Hey gang,
>
> I'm hearing so much about the Leonids, and rightly so. But what
> about the Orionids? They seem to be the next major shower. Is this right,
> and should I expect a fairly good 'show'?
>
> Bill from Philly
>
Good question Bill! The Orionids will occur under ideal conditions this
year. The peak is predicted for October 21 and the moon is new on the
20th. The Orionids are most active between the 17th and 25th of October.
The peak rates usually occur on the 21st or 22nd but can occur anywhere
during the period mentioned above. From a rural observing site away from
any light pollution one may expect to see 20-25 Orionids per hour at
maximum. Occasionally there have been outbursts of Orionid fireballs and
rates as high as 50 an hour.
The radiant (the area of the sky where the Orionids seem to originate
from) rises near 11 pm local daylight time and Orionid meteors may be
seen at any time after that. The best activity will occur near 5 am
local daylight time when Orion stands high in the south on the meridian.
I would place my center of vision high in the southeastern sky and let
the radiant travel through your field of view. If the southeast sky is
bad then south or east are your next choices. If you can watch for only
an hour or two then watch from 4-6 am and face high toward the south.
Most Orionid meteors are faint and observing from urban locations will
yield low rates.
While watching the Orionids there may be some activity from a minor
shower with a radiant between the "tail" of Cetus and Aries (known as
the Taurids or Arietids) producing slow meteors. Another minor radiant
known as the Epsilon Geminids has a radiant in central Gemini some 10
degrees northeast of the Orionid radiant. Both the Orionids and Epsilon
Geminids produce very swift meteors with numerous persistent trains.
One last item, the radiant of the Orionids is not located in central
Orion but rather on the Orion-Gemini border some 10 degrees northeast of
the bright orange star Betelgeuse.
Clear Skies!
Bob Lunsford
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