Then all you have to do is look up and enjoy the show,' the US space agency said. 'Just make sure you're warm enough, and viewing from a safe, dark spot away from bright lights. No special equipment is needed to observe meteor showers. They tend to be bright and fast moving, and they often leave persistent trails that can glow in the sky for a few seconds after they streak by. These meteors are fragments of dust left behind by Comet Halley in a trail that extends along its orbit. The shower's name comes from the fact that you can trace the paths of its meteors back to an area on the sky near Orion. However, it shouldn't completely spoil the view. The bad news is that this year the moon will be about 20 per cent full on the peak nights, so it will interfere a bit when it rises a couple of hours before dawn. It is a moderate shower, usually producing 10-20 meteors per hour at its peak, under clear, dark skies. The Orionid meteor shower is also active throughout October and November, and peaks on the night of October 20. Stargazing: Early in the evening, you'll find Jupiter and Saturn (shown) to the southeast of the sky, moving slowly westward with the stars over the course of the night NASA added: 'You'll be witnessing what was once a source of intense curiosity for astronomers, but which we now know is just a sign of two planets passing in the night.' During that period when we're passing Mars, and before we round the bend in our orbit to pull away from it, we see Mars in retrograde, appearing to change direction, even though it's still moving forward in its orbit.Īmateur astronomers have been told to take note of how Mars' position changes with respect to Betelgeuse, Aldebaran and the Pleiades over the weeks. 'That Mars appears to change its direction is an illusion caused by the motions of our planet in its orbit passing by the Red Planet in its orbit.'Įarth and Mars are on roughly circular paths around the sun, like cars on a racetrack, but our planet Earth is on the inner, faster track.Ībout every 26 months, we overtake Mars, which is moving slower in its orbit. ![]() ![]() 'It happens about every two years, and it really threw early observers for a loop,' the US space agency wrote. This is what is called the retrograde motion of Mars, NASA said. Over the next three months, from November to late January, the planet moves toward the west each night, then near the end of January it reverses direction again and continues its eastward journey. When it comes to other celestial sights this month, Mars has been steadily working its way toward the east all year like it usually does, relative to the background stars.īut at the end of October, the Red Planet halts this apparent motion, and then appears to reverse course. The overlap of the two events, which will not take place again until 2139, means that Jupiter will appear brighter and larger in the sky for the next few weeks. The planet's closest approach to Earth hardly ever coincides with opposition, which NASA said meant that this year's views would be 'extraordinary'. The gas giant came closest to Earth in almost 60 years on September 25, and 24 hours later reached opposition, meaning the planet appeared opposite the sun to those on Earth.
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