The Orionids, the meteor shower that began on October 2 and will last until November 7 , are famous because they can be seen from anywhere on the planet. These are meteors visible to the naked eye that come from Halley’s Comet from the constellation Orion.
The night show will have its maximum on Tuesday, October 21 , or even days before and days after this date, due to the particular characteristic of this meteor shower. According to experts, we can see an average of 25 shooting stars per hour.
The particles from Halley’s Comet , which visits our planet every 76 years and which we will see again in 2062 , are the protagonists of this meteor shower. To locate the point from which they depart, the radiant, we will have to locate the constellation of Orion, very easy to recognize because it has three stars aligned and almost the same brightness in its center, which we call “the three Marys” . This trio of stars will be visible at 00:00 at night from October 21 to 22.
But if we want to see a long-distance meteor, it is best to locate the radiant and look at 90 degrees from it , to appreciate the more or less long trajectory of the protagonists of that night. Although shooting stars may appear from anywhere in the sky, they will all lead in the opposite direction to the radiant one.
Whenever we want to enjoy this show in all its fullness, it is advisable to go to a very dark place , away from light pollution; see the sky in a supine position (lying on your back) and, if you want to take snapshots of meteors, use a tripod with a trigger and a wide-angle lens, to capture the trail of shooting stars in the sky night.
