Skip to main content

The Best Shooting Star Show of 2019 Is Happening Right Now

orionid meteor shower japan
Kazushi Inagaki/Getty Images

For the luckiest stargazers, spotting Halley’s Comet is but a twice-in-a-lifetime event. Cosmic remnants of Earth’s most famous comet linger long after it’s passed our planet, however. The best evidence for this can be seen every fall in the Orionid Meteor Shower. This, arguably the most spectacular shower each year, is happening right now.

Recommended Videos

What Is the Orionid Meteor Shower?

As they travel our solar system, passing comets leave massive amounts of space debris known as meteors in their wake. When those cosmic bits collide with Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up as meteoroids. For the Orionid Meteor Shower, the source of this debris is the tail of Halley’s Comet. These “shooting stars,” as they’re commonly known, typically flash and burn out in less than a second. When hundreds or thousands of these bits slam into the atmosphere within a short period, it results in a stunning astronomical display. The Orionids are often the most dazzling shooting star show every year.

What Makes the Orionid Meteor Shower Special?

Meteor showers happen throughout the year. Astronomically speaking, they’re hardly rare. What sets the Orionid Meteor Shower apart is its brilliance. At its peak, skywatchers can expect to see up to 20 shooting stars each hour. By the numbers, it’s not the strongest show of the year, but it’s often the most impressive. The speed of the Orionids, around 41 miles per second, can cause them to break up and leave persistent trails in their wake. These streaks of ionized gas can remain for a few seconds, creating an amazing and photogenic “star” show.

Where Can I See It?

Finding the most brilliant meteor showers like the Orionid isn’t hard. The sheer number of meteors on display makes it easy to spot against the night sky. Knowing the shower’s “radiant point” — the point in the sky from which the meteors originate — can help, however. For the Orionids, that point is just above Orion’s head near Collinder 69. To find it, locate Orion’s Belt then find the bright red supergiant star Betelgeuse nearby. A free mobile app like SkyView Lite can help (available for iOS and Andriod). Geographically speaking, it’s best to find the darkest skies with the least light pollution in your area.

When Is the Orionid Meteor Shower?

The exact dates change each year, although the shower typically occurs between the first weeks of October and November. For 2019, the Orionid Meteor Shower takes place from October 2 through November 7. Sadly, this year’s peak has already passed. However, as one of the best showers of the year, it’s expected to continue a brilliant display for another week.

For more astronomic, bucket list inspiration, check out the best places to catch the Northern Lights.

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
The 16 best Western movies to watch right now
Western movies come in a variety of forms and styles, and these are the best ones
Once Upon a Time in the West

Western films hold a special place in many people's hearts due to their ability to transport you to an entirely different reality. Their sweeping desert landscapes whisk us away from the bustle of everyday life or simply give us a sense of wanderlust without ever leaving our couches. In some Western movies, you root for the moral character, sometimes you cheer for the antiheroes, and in others, you want the bandits to succeed, but the storylines are always meant to excite.
And the style — we’ll wear vintage dungarees, Western bow ties, and Boss of the Plains brimmed hats any day of the week. If you’ve been wanting to dive into the film category but don’t know where to start, these are the 14 best Western movies to watch right now, listed from oldest to newest.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Read more
The 8 best horror movies to stream on Netflix right now
From pastiches of horror classics to totally original work, Netflix has great horror movies for every taste
1922

Loving horror movies is, for some movie-goers, almost entirely different from loving movies generally. Plenty of people love both, but deep horror fans know that there's nothing better than going to a theater or dimming all the lights at home and being prepped to get scared out of your mind. It's a totally unique thrill ride and can sometimes feel closer to riding a roller coaster than to anything you might get from other movie genres.

If you're looking to replicate that thrill ride at home, then we've got you covered with some of the best horror movies on Netflix to choose from. Of course, Netflix also has awesome action movies and a great roster of shows to peruse, but for this list, we'll be running down the best horror movies the service has to spook you.

Read more
The best movies to stream right now: Our top picks
These movies remind us how powerful movies can be
Orson Welles in Citizen Kane

Naming the best movies of all time is daunting for all of the reasons you might expect. There have been thousands of movies since motion pictures were first invented, and while not all of them are great, there are certainly plenty that fit the bill. A list like this can never even hope to be comprehensive, because seeing every movie is impossible in and of itself.

It's also, at least to some extent, a question of taste. Even so, we've tried our best to find movies that fit the bill and will remind you exactly what movies can do at their very best. Without further ado, these are the best movies to stream right now.

Read more