Space Awareness
Orionid Meteor Shower Lights Up Skies Around the World
Written by: developer
Stargazers worldwide were treated to a real show during the third weekend of October when the Orionid meteor shower sent bits and pieces of Halley’s Comet falling down to Earth. The meteor shower peaked in the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 21. For those who could not see the falling stars in person from where they were at, NASA offered a live streaming feed online from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The Orionid meteor shower is a result of the Earth passing through ice and dusty debris left over from the famous Halley’s Comet, last seen in 1986. The meteors hit the Earth’s atmosphere at about 150,000 mph, breaking apart and creating the visible flashes of light across the sky.
If you didn’t know about the Orionid meteor shower, be sure to “Like” us on Facebook and you won’t miss a thing. We keep our Facebook friends updated on everything going on in space and with the Space Foundation. Click here to check out our page!
Think you know all there is to know meteors? Take this quiz and find out:
http://www.space.com/15329-meteor-showers-quiz-skywatching.html
Click this link to see an amazing photo gallery of the Orionid meteor shower as seen from all over the world:
http://spaceweather.com/gallery/index.php?title=meteor
This article is part of Space Watch: November 2012 (Volume: 11, Issue: 11).
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