This week pretty much marks our last chance to catch Saturn in the evening before it disappears behind the Sun for the winter. On the 15th and 16th, a thin crescent Moon joins it for a farewell party low in the southwest shortly after sundown. Binoculars will provide a nice view of the pair, but of course, Saturn’s rings require a telescope.
At the other end of the night, the 4 a.m.-6 a.m. predawn time slot will continue to feature that planetary dance mentioned in last week’s article. On the 17th through 19th, Mars glides west to east less than a Moon-width above Jupiter. If you’re an early riser, there will be a constantly changing show daily over the next few weeks until it gets too darn cold at 4am to be standing outside.
Fall also marks the start of meteor shower season, a time where as one shower is finishing up, another is starting. Meteor showers last all night, so whether you find yourself up late or early is not important.
This month, the Orionid Meteor Shower peaks the evening of October 21-22, courtesy of the debris dropped off by Halley’s comet. Like most showers, the Orionids start slow, build to a peak and then taper off again, the whole process taking a couple of weeks. The best time to view it is, of course, when it’s peaking. The Orionids are very speedy little rocks which hit the atmosphere at 66 kilometers per second, often leaving tails in their wake, and featuring the occasional overachiever.
On a night that the weather person is cooperative, grab a chair, a blanket and pack a little patience. Find a dark place with lots of open sky away from city lights; for every meteor you see streaking overhead from your back yard, there are 50 that our archaic acorn streetlights will have washed out. Outside of town is the best, but areas such as Yorkton’s Logan Green or Deer Park Golf Course work reasonably well. The shower strengthens throughout the evening, so the later you are out, the better the shower becomes.
Face south to southeast toward the constellation of Orion for which the shower is named. Lean back and look around; there is no one best direction. Remember that it takes 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark, so you probably won’t see any meteors for the first while. Also, meteors come in spurts: the Orionid predicted rate of 20 meteors per hour does not mean one meteor exactly every 3 minutes. Give yourself an hour before deciding to go check out the television.
Meteor showers are among the easiest of the night’s wonders to observe, available from your rural backyard, and wherever a little nighttime still exists in town.
