The Orionids meteor shower will pass through Earth this evening. At its peak, 30 shooting stars can be seen per hour.
If you’d like to catch a glimpse of the swarm, it’s best to visit between 4 AM and 6 AM. “There are some light clouds over Drenthe, but you can probably see the swarm through the clouds,” says weatherman Roland van der Zwaag of RTV Drenthe.
A shooting star is nothing but cosmic grit in our solar system, says Theo Jurriens. He is an astronomer from the University of Groningen. The cosmic grit lights up at a great height, because it collides with the earth.
“The cosmic material is not evenly distributed in the orbit of our earth around the sun. As a result, sometimes more shooting stars can be seen than at other times. If we are in a period where more can be seen, we speak of a meteor shower,” says Jurriens.
The most famous meteor shower is the Perseids, which you see in the summer months. Jurriens has good news in case you miss tonight’s natural phenomenon: “The next swarm that will be visible to us will be early January.”
Another special natural phenomenon can already be admired next Tuesday. “The sun will be eclipsed by a quarter next Tuesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Jurriens.