Orionid Meteors - Hayley's Comet

Orionid Meteor Shower - Peak's on 21st Oct
Watch a piece of history fulfill its destiny, and burn up in a bright flash of light as it hits our Atmosphere at 66km/second !
Yes that right, it is that time of the year where we are treated to the lovely sight of the Orionid meteor shower.
These ancient bits of Hayley's comet put on a very flashy display as they burst into our atmosphere at this incredible speed
Most of what you see is taking place at 100km (60 miles) in our upper atmosphere as these tiny fragments, most which are no bigger than a grain of sand or rice for a big one, Ionize the air around them as they vaporise in a flash of light.
Some of them will leave a smoking "Train" which is the burnt up debris of their passage.
Usually this train will last just a few seconds, but they have been known to persist for up to 15 minutes with some meteor showers.
I have just come from an early morning observing session of the Orionid's myself & I counted 4 of these flashy meteor in a 20 minute period from the suburbs on the morning of Friday the 19th. At the peak on the 21st you may to see up to 25 meteors per hour streaking across the sky, appearing to radiate from the constellation of Orion "The Hunter"
The best place of course to see any meteor shower is from the dark skies of the country, where the lank of artificial light will allow you to see the fainter meteors of the shower.
In my experience meteors tend to come in little bursts close together, so make sure you give yourself an hour or so at least to lay back, relax, enjoy your favourite warm drink & perhaps even listen to some soothing music and enjoy the show (just try not to fall asleep !)
The best way to see this and any meteor shower is with the Naked eye laying back in a deck chair, on a picnic mat or the like & looking in the general direction of the constellation which in this case is Orion.
The attached map shows the constellation of Orion high overhead at 4 am in the morning with the radiant labeled as "Orionids".
Click on the map to enlarge and get a better image.
The early hours of the morning and the subsequent absence of the moon, through till first light will be the best time to see this shower, so make sure you rug up for the cooler weather & enjoy !