Keep Your Eyes To the Sky – 6 Straight Weeks of Meteor Showers
Have you ever had the chance to stare up at the night sky and catch a meteor shower? If not, you'll get plenty of opportunities in the next six weeks.
You don't have to be an astronomer or big into science to appreciate the beauty of a "shooting star." Now imagine being able to see them almost every night for the next six weeks. It's possible with a few different meteor showers being visible in New York (and all of the United States).
The first meteor shower (named Draconids) peaks Friday, October 7th. The best time to see the shooting stars are between sunset and midnight.
The next meteor shower that will be visible to us is Orionids (from the constellation Orion). According to IFL Science,
[Orionids is] actually already visible but will peak, like every year, on October 21. They are the fragments left over by Halley’s comet, which orbits around the Sun every 76 years.
IFL Science goes on to explain that you'll still be able to see Orionids into the first week of November.
The North Taurid meteor shower will peak on November 11th, and the best time to view will be just after midnight. Even though it's the peak of this meteor shower, only about 10 (or less) meteors are expected every hour.
The last meteor shower in this six-week stretch is the Leonids (again, named for the constellation they seem to originate from - Leo). The Leonids meteor shower will peak on November 17th.
Make sure over the next few weeks, you take a moment to look up at night. This is the perfect time to see something really spectacular - A natural light show in the night sky!
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