ORIONID METEOR SHOWER: Last night, Oct. 11-12, NASAs All-Sky Meteor Network detected a piece of Halleys Comet disintegrating in the atmosphere over New Mexico. The fireball was bright enough to see through the light of a bright gibbous Moon. Multiple cameras tracked the meteoroid, which allowed a calculation of its trajectory: It hit Earths atmosphere traveling 68 km/s (152,000 mph) and fully disintegrated 67.9 km above Earths surface. This fireball is a sign that the Orionid meteor shower is about to begin. Every year in mid- to late-October, Earth passes through a stream of debris from Halleys Comet, the parent of the Orionids. For many nights in a row, pre-dawn sky watchers can see meteors streaking out of the constellation Orion, near the Hunters shoulder. In 2014, forecasters expect the Orionids to peak on Oct. 21-22 with 20 to 25 meteors per hour. Stay tuned for updates about meteor activity as Earth approaches the heart of the debris stream.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 22:11:15 +0000
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