The Orionid meteor shower announced its presence with a showy fireball that wowed observers already this week -- but the best viewing for shooting stars may start Saturday night.
Sightings of a fireball streaking through the sky were reported Wednesday evening in Northern California around 7:45 p.m. But Sacramento State astronomy professor Chris Taylor said Wednesday's light show may be a precursor to the meteor shower this weekend.
"The peak is supposed to be Saturday night and Sunday morning," said Taylor. "The best time to look at it is between midnight and dawn. And the place to look is the south."
The constellation Orion, the heavenly body from which the shower derives its name, will be in the south.
The Orion meteors are space debris trailing from Halley's Comet. The earth is crossing through the trail of debris.
Taylor said the best place to observe is in a dark location, perhaps a park in the foothills well away from residential areas. He recommends going up to the Auburn or Placerville areas to catch a glimpse.
"If you try to observe from downtown Sacramento, you will be lucky to observe a handful," said Taylor.
The Orionid shower isn't usually as impressive as the Perseids in August or the Geminids in December, according to the website http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/the-2012-peak-of-the-orionid-meteor-shower. On moonless nights a person can expect to see about 15 to 20 meteors per hour at the peak of Orionid, the site stated.
Viewing will be aided this year by a dark sky. The moon is expected to set by midnight.
"All we have to do is hope for clear weather," Taylor said.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Bill Lindelof
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.