October is a special month for astronomers, as the Earth passes in front of a tail of three different comets. Among them is Halley’s Comet, whose presence close to our planet results in the Orionid meteor shower. This is a unique phenomenon, as the meteorites appear as if they were emanating from the north through the second brightest star in the Orion constellation –Betelgeuse–.
It is taking its highest peak, right on the night of October 20 and the early morning of October 21. Tonight you can see more than 20 meteorites per hour making a luminous walkway across the Earth. These stars are actually remnants of Halley’s core that orbits the Sun every 76 years; which, by the way, also have the ability to look like fireballs a few seconds before disappearing.
To see this meteor shower you need, first of all, to find the constellation Orion in the sky – and this, in turn, by finding Orion’s belt. Find three stars in the sky that are far enough apart in a straight line.
To see the peak of the rain, it is advisable to do so from 12:31 am to 5:59 am, from October 20 to October 21.