Orionids Meteor Shower Leeds 2022: How to see the Orionids in Leeds and when will it be visible?

For Loiners with an interest in astronomy, this week will be a good week with several nights of meteor showers on the cards. The Orionids meteor shower will be visible for a few nights, as long as the weather holds up, and people will be able to spot the meteors with the naked eye.

Leeds was treated to another astronomical event earlier this month, the Draconid meteor shower, which saw debris from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner pass by in the night sky. And this week  there’s yet another celestial phenomenon to look forward to.

The Orionids meteor shower is an annual event that occurs in October, usually lasting around one week. The shower, hailing from its parent body Halley’s Comet, gets its name from the constellation they appear to come from in the night sky, Orion.

The Orionids meteor shower consists of smaller chunks of rocks that have broken off Halley’s Comet, and has previously been recorded to show meteors, or ‘shooting stars’ at a rate of 50 to 70 an hour. The parent body, however, is only visible from Earth every 75-79 years.

This year, the Orionids will be most visible in the night sky between October 21 and 22, from midnight until dawn. The showers will however be visible above Leeds for several days before and after its peak.

Best way to watch Orionids meteor shower in Leeds

The Orionids meteor shower will be visible in the Leeds night sky with the naked eye, so there is no need for binoculars or telescopes to watch the astronomical event. They will be most visible between midnight and dawn on October 21 to 22 if seen from a dark place, away from street lights and other light sources, and with eyes that have adjusted to the dark.

The Met Office forecast says that there are chances of heavy rain and thunders which unfortunately might mean the night sky will see a lot of clouds. But if the night sky remains cloud free, the meteor shower should be visible for whoever fancies a night time light show.