PA Skies To Light Up For Orionid Meteor Shower Peak This Week

PENNSYLVANIA — Spectacular meteor showers are set to peak in the skies over Pennsylvania in the coming week, but some cloudy weather could get in the way.

The Orionid meteor shower will hit its peak next Friday morning. Best viewing will be in the early morning hours Friday and the days before. In eastern Pennsylvania, clouds are forecasted and some rain is likely Saturday night into Sunday, as well as Sunday into Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights also look to be mostly or partly cloudy, but things are forecasted to clear up by Thursday into Friday, which is the peak of the showers.

In the greater Pittsburgh area, meanwhile, clouds are slated for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, with rain possible Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Viewing this weekend and late next week looks clear, however.

The thin, crescent moon will leave mostly dark skies for the peak, when about 20 shooting stars an hour fly 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. Take along a camera. Report a fireball — a very bright meteor — to the American Meteor Society.

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The Orionid meteor shower, which started Sunday and continues through Nov. 7, intersecting with the long-running Taurid meteor showers that rambles along through late summer and most of the fall. The Taurids are actually two separate meteor showers coming 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 through 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 one 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.