The stellar event is one of the last and most striking that is left for this 2023.
This year the celestial vault has surprised us with wonderful stellar events that have made us look up to the sky on several occasions. October, which already gave us the conjunction of the Moon with Jupiter, will now amaze us with a great meteor shower, none other than Halley’s Comet.
How and when to see the meteor shower of Halley’s Comet?
The Orionid meteor shower is one of the most anticipated astronomical phenomena every year, and this Friday, October 21, is when it will be seen at its clearest.
Where to see it?
In any part of the country, however, it is recommended to observe it in a dark place, away from sources of bright light, such as large cities.
Where to look?
This shower of stars comes from the constellation of Orion, and to see it you have to focus on the sector of the star Betelgeuse, the “hunter’s shoulder”. In the Southern Hemisphere we see Orion upside down, so we must look for it further towards the horizon, below the “Three Marys”.
What is its relationship to Halley’s Comet?
The Orionids are fragments dropped by Halley’s Comet. When they come into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, they are burned by friction with the air and create the luminous trails that we know as shooting stars. It should be noted that Halley is one of the best known comets and that it was last seen on Earth in 1986, and will not be seen once more until 2061.