Orionid meteor shower to peak in UK skies this week
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The Orionid meteor shower, which is capable of producing bright fireball meteors, is set to peak in UK skies this week.
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While it has been active for most of October, the celestial spectacle will be at its best in the early hours of October 22.
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Clear skies permitting, skygazers could be able to spot as many as 10-20 meteors per hour.
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Where the weather is less cooperative, there will still be chances to catch a glimpse of the shower until 7 November.
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The Orionids are an annual meteor shower caused by debris left by Halley's comet in its journey around the Sun.
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Every year, Earth passes through the comet dust and the debris burns with the friction caused by the atmosphere, creating a bright streak of light through the sky.
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The Orionids are fast and bright, entering our atmosphere with speeds of around 41 miles per second. They can often produce long glowing trails and fireballs.
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To spot them, find a dark spot with wide open skies, away from city light pollution and let your eyes adjust to the night sky for 20 minutes.
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The meteors are visible to the naked eye so you won't need any specialist equipment like binoculars or a telescope.
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The meteors will appear to originate from the constellation of Orion, near the red supergiant star Betelgeuse. This is known as the radiant.
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Between midnight and dawn the constellation will climb higher in the sky to the south and then the south-west.
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It is best to view the meteors slightly away from the radiant as they will be more visible.
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Unfortunately, the Moon will be in the waxing gibbous phase on the night of the 21 October, throwing extra light into the night sky and reducing visibility.
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However, conditions will improve once the Moon sets around 03:00 BST on Thursday morning.
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Meteor showers are best seen in cloudless skies. Unfortunately for skywatchers, this week looks to be the wettest and windiest week so far this autumn with a strengthening jet stream propelling low pressure systems across the UK.
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While Wednesday is looking wet and windy for many parts of the UK, a brief ridge of high pressure could mean that there is a chance of clear spells for many parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the second half of the night into Thursday morning.
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There may also be some clear skies for a time for western Scotland.
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Eastern Scotland looks cloudy and wet with a lingering front and the far south coast of England could also see outbreaks of rain.
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Keep an eye on the latest forecast here or on the BBC Weather app.
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