October brings the opportunity to see a comet and a meteor shower.
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October brings the opportunity to see a comet and a meteor shower.
According to the American Meteor Society: "Each October, Earth passes through the inbound debris stream of Halley’s Comet, producing the annual Orionid Meteor Shower. The outbound portion of this same debris trail brings us the Eta Aquariid shower each spring.
"Orionid activity begins in early October, but it’s not until mid-month that Earth encounters the densest part of the stream. The shower is typically of medium strength, producing 15–20 meteors per hour at maximum under dark skies. "
The best viewing times are Oct. 20-23, between 1 a.m. and dawn.
Dark Sky locations are ideal for meteor viewing. Kissimmee Prairie State Park in Okeechobee County is a dark sky park. Astronomy pads must be reserved in advance. Those who reserve the pads must arrive before sunset and make contact with the ranger on duty.
The park closes at sunset, but those who have State Park Annual passes can come to the park office during regular hours to sign up for an after hours permit which will give them the key code for access to the preserve's common use areas after dark.
Click here for more on the meteor shower.
Or check out this video about the meteors:
