Orionids, Taurids Flying Now Over Murrieta: Stargazing Tips

MURRIETA, CA — Fall meteor showers are just getting started in Southern California. The Draconid meteor shower is now past its peak but the next big show is already underway.

Welcome to the 2022 Orionids and long-running Taurids nightly show. Stargazers can see a spattering of meteors stemming from the Orion, Leo and Taurus constellations through early November, according to the American Meteor Society.

If you don't know how to find the constellation Orion, here's a tip from Science Focus.com.

Locate the line of three distinctive stars that make up Orion's Belt: Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak, according to Science Focus.com. "If you look slightly below Orion’s belt, keen eyes may even be able to spot a fuzzy patch; the Orion Nebula."

The meteors can noticeably appear from the northwest corner of the constellation, according to Science Focus.com.

Will the weather cooperate into the peak viewing days?

The Accuweather long-range forecast for Orionid viewing in Murrieta shows the best chance for Southwest Riverside County Orionid viewing is during its peak of Friday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22. Residents can expect warm days and cloudless skies inland, so pull out those lawn chairs and settle back for some nighttime fireworks.

The big difference between the Draconids and the upcoming Orionids meteor showers is the number of meteors one can see. Typically a minor show with only about 10 shooting stars an hour, the Draconids can be a sleeper.

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The Orionid meteor shower will display amid a thin, crescent moon. At its peak, viewers will enjoy mostly dark skies. As many as 20 shooting stars an hour are expected to fly by, as in typical years. The meteors are fast-moving and occasionally produce bright fireballs and leave persistent trains.
So-named because meteors radiate from the same area of the sky as the Orion constellation, the Orionids are produced by debris from the famous Halley’s Comet.

The hours between midnight and dawn are the best time to see the Orionids.

Both the Draconids and Orionids intersect the Taurid meteor showers — that’s plural because the meteor shower that rambles along through late summer and most of the fall comes from two separate streams — the first created by grain dust left behind by Asteroid 2004/TG10, and the second by debris left behind by Comet 2P/Encke. It runs Sept. 7-Dec. 10.

The best times to see Taurids are late October and early November when the two streams overlap. The South Taurids peak around Nov. 5; the North Taurids peak around Nov. 12.

Occasionally, the Taurids create a “swarm” with numerous bright fireballs. The last Taurid swarm was in 2015. In normal years, though, they produce about five or 10 shooting stars an hour. Like most meteor showers, this is best viewed after midnight.

Take along a camera.

Report a fireball — a very bright meteor — to the American Meteor Society.

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