Everything you need to know about the Orionid meteor shower on October 21

After the shy rain of shooting stars from Epsilon Gemends, it’s al-Jabbar’s turn to light up the October sky.

If the meteor showers of Draconids and Epsilon-Geminids aren’t enough to quench your thirst for astronomy, the Orionids should get the job done in a big way. This will be the third meteor from afar Most impressive of the month. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Debris from Halley’s Comet

Like every astronomical event of this type, the Orionid meteorite is associated with a comet. In this case, it is the most famous of all: comet From Halle, say 1P/Haley. Named in honor of British astronomer Edmund Halley, this comet was first spotted over 2,000 years ago!

For information, the meteor shower of Eta-Aquarids is also associated with Halley’s Comet, and the Orionids take their name from the constellation from which they seem to emanate… Orion !

Twenty meteors an hour

If you’ve ever been disappointed by the Epsilon-Gemini “small” meteor shower, this should blow your mind. Active from October 2 to November 7, and will peak at night from October 21 to 22. This time it is expected that there will be about twenty meteors per hour. Finally, it should be noted that the Orionids will be followed, in a few days, by a partial solar eclipse. More information in a future article!