Everything Science Forum

The Orionid meteor shower is at its best the weekend of October 20-22, peaking before dawn on the 21st. The Name The shower is named for the constellation Orion, the hunter, which climbs into view in the east-southeast by around midnight. If you traced the paths of the meteors, they would all appear to start in Orion. That doesn?t mean you have to look at Orion to see the meteors, though; they can streak across any part of the sky. The Cause Meteor showers are fickle, so their best showings can vary by several hours from year to year. That?s because a meteor shower occurs when Earth crosses the orbital path of a comet. Such a path is littered with tiny grains of rock and dust from the comet itself. As Earth flies through this trail of dust, the particles slam into our atmosphere and burn up, forming the bright streaks of light known as meteors or shooting stars. The dust isn?t distributed evenly, however. It forms clumps of different sizes. Over the years, meteor watchers have plotted many of the clumps, but there?s still some uncertainty. So it?s tough to be certain about just what hour is the best, and just how many meteors you may see.

http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/orionids2007.html