Orionid Meteor Shower peak Tonight

This weekend presents the Orionid meteor shower at its best, and tonight – the night of October 20-21, 2017 – may well be the shower’s peak night. Late Saturday night and Sunday morning may be good times to watch as well. On both of these nights, meteors should become visible starting at late evening. They’ll probably be most prolific in the few hours before dawn on October 21, but try watching before dawn on October 22, too.

From a dark site, you might see a maximum of about 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

Fortunately, today is only one day after new moon, so there’ll be no moonlight to ruin this year’s Orionid meteor shower. In fact, it will hard to catch the young waxing crescent moon low in the west after sunset. As is standard for most meteor showers, the best time to watch this shower will be between the hours of midnight and dawn – regardless of your time zone.

The meteors – vaporizing bits of comet ice and dust – will look like streaks of light in the night sky. They’re sometimes called shooting stars.

TODAY: Sunshine with a few high clouds.Cooler but seasonable. A high upper 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. A low in the low 40s. Light winds.

SATURDAY: Sunshine with some high clouds passing through.Pleasant and mild.A high near 70. Light west winds.

Looking further ahead…

SATURDAY NIGHT: A few high clouds but otherwise clear. A low 45 to 50

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds, and above normal in temperature. A high 70 to 75.

MONDAY: Partly to mostly sunny. Continued mild and breezy at times. A low near 50. A high in the low 70s.

TUESDAY: Partial morning sun then clouding up with a rising chance for showers later in the day. Breezy at times. A low near 55. A high 65 to 70.

WEDNESDAY: Mainly cloudy. Chance for showers or periods of rain, possibly moderate at times. A low in the mid to upper 50s. A high around 60.

THURSDAY: Mainly cloudy. Chance for showers or periods of rain. A low around 40. A high in the 50s.

Average lows low to mid 30s. Normal highs mid to upper 50s.

RH/10-20[end]

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