Latest Orionids Stories

John P. Millis, Ph.D. for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online As comets tumble into the inner solar system from their home, far beyond the orbit of Pluto, they make their way across Earth’s orbit. Along their path they leave behind a trail of tiny dust particles, stripped from the comet by the Sun’s radiation. When the Earth passes through the trail of dust, the particles enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up from the friction in the air. On the ground we witness the glowing...

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online As the anniversary of a spectacular meteor procession that lit up the night skies nearly a hundred years ago approaches, astronomers from Texas State University and the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ) have taken the call to answer some long forgotten questions about the range of the great fireball raid of Feb. 9, 1913. On that night, oh so long ago, one of the most dazzling displays ever recorded lit up night skies...

John P. Millis, Ph.D. for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online For amateur sky watchers, this weekend promises quite the show. The annual Leonid meteor shower – which gets its name because the meteors appear to originate in the constellation Leo – is upon us, and this year should be pretty good. The meteor shower will be visible during the latter half of the week, peaking early Saturday morning. Those in the Eastern part of the country should see the greatest rate – about...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The meteorite which exploded over the San Francisco Bay area last week did not only strike attention as it fired across the sky, but it also struck the home of resident Lisa Webber. The meteorite erupted through the sky last week in San Francisco and was witnessed by several residents in the area. While this was going on, Webber, unaware of the incoming meteor, said she had heard a thud on her roof but didn't think too much of it....

[WATCH VIDEO: A Meteor Shower From Halley's Comet] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Throughout the year Earth’s denizens are offered a number of good opportunities to witness meteor showers illuminating the night skies, with streaks of white lights racing across the upper atmosphere at lightning speed. Some of these seemingly heavenly showers, such as the late-April Lyrids, the Perseids of mid-August, and the often-spectacular Leonids, which arrive in November,...

[WATCH VIDEO: A Meteor Shower From Halley's Comet] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The National Weather Service (NWS) received numerous calls last night (October 17) from Central Valley to the Bay Area in California, with callers claiming they had witnessed a giant fireball blazing across the night sky. The fireball was reportedly witnessed between about 7:45 and 7:55 p.m. PST. “We've had a lot of calls about people who have seen a big fireball,” said...

The dramatic appearance of Halley's comet in the night sky has been observed and recorded by astronomers since 240 BC. Now a study shows that the orbital influences of Jupiter on the comet and the debris it leaves in its wake are responsible for periodic outbursts of activity in the Orionid meteor showers. The results will be presented by Aswin Sekhar at the National Astronomy Meeting in Manchester on Tuesday 27th March. Halley's comet orbits the Sun every 75-76 years on average. As its...

Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley's comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower.  Forecasters expect more than 15 meteors per hour to fly across the sky on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, when the shower peaks. "Although this isn't the biggest meteor shower of the year, it's definitely worth waking up for," says Bill Cooke of the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office. "The setting is dynamite." Orionids are framed by some of the brightest and most beautiful...

The Orionid meteor shower, formed from debris left behind by Halley's Comet, will be viewable during the early morning hours in both the northern and southern hemispheres over the next week, various media outlets are reporting. According to an article written by Joe Rao of Space.com and reprinted by CBSNews.com, "The Orionids can best be described as a junior version of the famous Perseid meteor shower… The meteors are known as "Orionids" because the fireballs seem to fan out from a...