Orionids
The Orionids meteor shower, often shortened to the Orionids, is one of two meteor showers associated with Halley's Comet. The Orionids are so-called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Orion, but they can be seen over a large area of the sky. The Orionids are an annual meteor shower which last approximately one week in late October. In some years, meteors may occur at rates of 50–70 per hour.
| Orionids (ORI) | |
|---|---|
The radiant of the Orionids is located about 10 degrees northeast of Betelgeuse | |
| Discovery date | October 1839 |
| Parent body | 1P/Halley |
| Radiant | |
| Constellation | Orion (10 degrees northeast of Betelgeuse) |
| Right ascension | 06h 21m |
| Declination | +15.6° |
| Properties | |
| Occurs during | October 2 – November 7 |
| Date of peak | October 21 |
| Velocity | 66.9 km/s |
| Zenithal hourly rate | 20 |
Orionid outbursts occurred in 585, 930, 1436, 1439, 1465, and 1623. The Orionids occur at the ascending node of Halley's comet. The ascending node reached its closest distance to Earth around 800 BCE. Currently Earth approaches Halley's orbit at a distance of 0.154 AU (23.0 million km; 14.3 million mi; 60 LD) during the Orionids. The next outburst might be in 2070 as a result of particles trapped in a 2:13 MMR with Jupiter.