Meteor shower peaks 21st Oct 2012

[Cath]

[Pete Presland]

i saw a few in that exact region this morning

[alan potts]

Anyone any idea of timings for UK, as the Just before dawn will be for America, but what time zone?

Alan

[JB80]

Timings are a bit unpredictable for this one normally.

http://skytour.homestead.com/met2012.html

The center of the activity and nominal peak of the Orionids is Sunday, October 21, so it would be good to watch that morning from 1 or 2am until morning twilight gets too bright. The Orionids have a history of being unpredictable, however, so watching the adjacent mornings during the same period is just as likely to be productive. The moon starts entering the prime viewing hours after the 23rd.

The Orionids are capable of producing interesting activity from October 17-25. Traditionally, the shower produces maximum rates of about 25 per hour, with occasional enhancements to 50 per hour occurring irregularly. The shower peak was very strong and long-lived during 2006 and a few years thereafter, but appeared to have returned to normal in 2011. The shower seems to produce spurts and lulls, so one morning (even around the predicted maximum) may be very dull while the next morning is very active.