2018 Orionid Meteor Shower peaks this weekend
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The actual peak of the 2018 Orionid Meteor Shower will come early Sunday morning at around 2 am. However, our local weather across northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio will prevent us from getting a perfect view here. Two factors working against us are the presence of moonlight and cloud cover.
Event though it will be one morning past peak, the better local viewing is likely to come on Monday after the moon sets, a little after 5:30 am. During this time, it’ll be a couple hours before dawn and there will be few clouds in the sky.
According to our astronomical colleagues at earthsky.org, there are 10-15 meteors per hour predicted with this year’s show. These Orionid meteors are debris from Halley’s Comet and appear to originate near the constellation Orion. However, you don’t need to know where Orion is in the sky. Just simply look up and, if a meteor makes its move, it’ll catch your eye.
If you decide to head out to try to catch the meteor shower, remember to have patience. It will take time for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and it may take up to an hour (or longer) for you to see a meteor move by.