The Orionid meteor shower lights up autumn skies

The annual Orionid meteor shower illuminated night skies around the world this week, reaching its peak between October 21 and 22. According to the American Meteor Society (AMS) and NASA, observers under clear, dark skies could see around 20 to 25 meteors per hour, many of them bright and fast, radiating from near the border of the Orion and Gemini constellations.

NASA explains that the Orionids are caused by tiny fragments shed by Halley's Comet (1P/Halley). As Earth passes through this stream of debris each October, the particles enter our atmosphere at about 66 kilometers per second, burning up and producing the swift, white streaks characteristic of this meteor shower.

Experts from China's Purple Mountain Observatory noted that this year's new moon created nearly perfect viewing conditions, making even faint meteors visible to the naked eye. They advised stargazers to watch after midnight, when the radiant climbs higher and meteors appear more frequently.

Many photographers captured the celestial show in long-exposure images that revealed multiple white trails and glowing persistent trains, an effect caused by ionized gases in the upper atmosphere.

With the Orionids fading, skywatchers can look forward to two more major events before year's end: the Leonids in mid-November and the Geminids in mid-December, both expected to offer spectacular displays if weather and moonlight cooperate, according to AMS forecasts.