Orionid Meteor Shower 2017 Peaking Now
The annual Orionid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and the moon won’t interfere.
HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The Orionid meteor shower will peak Friday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 22, but observant Hudson Valley skywatchers may have already seen a few meteors streaking across the sky from the annual show. The meteors — some of the fastest and brightest produced by any showers this year — will continue to fly through Nov. 7 as Earth hits a stream of debris left behind by Halley’s Comet head-on.
The Orionids, so-named because they originate from near the constellation Orion (The Hunter), are expected to produce between 10 to 30 meteors an hour this year, though in some years as many as 80 meteors an hour can blaze across the sky.
As with most meteor showers, the best time to view them is after midnight through the pre-dawn hours.
