'Meteor shower' from Halley's comet to be seen soon

TPO - The Orionid meteor shower will peak when the Earth passes through a stream of meteors left in the solar system by the famous Halley's comet. The Orionids are expected to peak early in the morning of October 21, US time, or noon on October 21, Vietnam time.

An Orionid meteor streaks past Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, California, USA. (Photo: Mountain Light Photography Inc)

The annual Orionid meteor shower — the dusty result of the journey that Halley's comet makes around the sun every 76 years on average — will peak this week, just as the famous constellation for which it's named rises in the autumn sky.

There will be about 23 meteors per hour.

The meteor activity runs from September 26 to November 22, with the Orionids peaking early on October 21, when about 23 meteors are expected per hour, according to the American Meteor Society. The exact peak is expected to occur at 1 a.m. ET, or about 11 a.m. ET on October 21.

However, a crescent moon will be in the sky for most of the night, making for less-than-ideal viewing conditions. According to the American Meteor Society, bright moonlight will “severely hamper” the visibility of this display. So you’ll probably be better off watching the 2024 Orionids from home, where you can hopefully see an especially bright meteor.

According to NASA, the Orionids are one of the best meteor showers of the year. These meteors are known for their brightness and speed. The Orionids are fast-moving meteors, predicted to hit Earth's atmosphere at speeds of 41 miles per second (66 kilometers per second), or about 148,000 miles per hour (238,000 km/h).

Meteor showers are caused by clouds of dust and debris left in the inner solar system by comets as they fly in and out of the sun. As Earth passes through them, its atmosphere hits the material, causing meteors.

The Orionids are one of two annual meteor showers caused by Halley's Comet, the only known comet visible to the naked eye that can theoretically be seen twice in a human lifetime.

The last Halley's Comet to pass through the solar system was in 1986 and is expected to visit again in 2061, also causing the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks in early May each year. Both meteor showers are visible from both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres.

Despite their distant origins, the Orionids appear to originate from a patch of sky near Betelgeuse, a red giant star in the constellation Orion. The constellation is best known for Orion's Belt, which consists of three evenly spaced stars: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.

Also in this region are some of the brightest stars in the night sky, such as Sirius, Rigel, Procyon and Capella. Orion will reach its highest point in the sky at around 2 a.m. in the Northern Hemisphere during the Orionids' peak.

Ha Thu

According to Live Science

Source: https://tienphong.vn/sap-nhin-thay-sao-bang-tu-sao-choi-halley-post1683577.tpo