What to Know
- The Orionids meteor shower lasts through the month, but peaks on Saturday night into Sunday morning
- As many as 80 meteors will be visible every hour near the Orion constellation in the eastern sky
- Weather conditions are good for viewing throughout the weekend, but will be best on Friday night
Stargazers in the tri-state will be looking up this weekend as the much-loved Orionids meteor shower peaks amid mostly clear skies.
The Orionids are visible into the first week of November, but they’ll be at their most intense between Oct. 20 and Oct. 22.
As many as 80 meteors will be visible every hour during the meteor shower’s peak Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to Space.com.
The meteor shower is created by particles from Halley’s Comet, which zooms past Earth every 75 to 76 years. The particles appear to be shooting from the Orion constellation, which is how the meteor shower got its name.
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Although the Orionids appear every fall, stargazers this year won’t have moonlight to hamper their view.
Weather-wise, Friday night will be the best night for observing in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with mostly clear skies, Storm Team 4 says. Saturday night will also provide good viewing for most of the area, as only partly cloudy conditions are in the forecast. Despite clouds, Sunday night should be a decent time to see them as well.
Even with mostly clear skies, starwatchers will want to get away from city lights as much as possible, said Tom Haeberle, of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York. Places like parks, beaches and cemeteries, if accessible, are great places to catch a glimpse.
If you’re in Brooklyn on Sunday evening, NYC Parks is hosting a free viewing featuring telescopes and binoculars at Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge.
Local
Further out in Hope, New Jersey, there's a viewing event at the UACNJ Observatory at Jenny Jump on Saturday night.
