The famed Halley's Comet returns this month - well, sort of.
Although technically to see the real thing you'll have to hang on until 2061, debris shed by the comet should be visible in our skies in the coming week.
Comets are mucky creatures, leaving a trail of rocky ice, gas and other particles in their wake as they traverse the solar system. When Earth passes through the remnants of Halley's Comet as we orbit the sun on October 21-22, it will create a cosmic firework display known as the Orionids meteor shower.
The resultant meteors have their "radiant" in the constellation Orion, meaning the origin can be traced back to this point. You don't need any specialist equipment to observe a meteor shower and the best time of night to view the Orionids is after midnight on October 21-22. At the peak, it should be possible to see up to 25 shooting stars per hour.
"In terms of meteor showers, while this isn't one of the big three - Perseids, Geminids, and Quadrantids - it is fairly reliable and worth getting out there to see," says Steve Owens, a leading Scottish astronomer and author of Stargazing For Dummies. "This year it coincides with a new moon which means that if people do manage to get outwith the main towns and cities, they should, weather-permitting, get an unimpeded view."
The good thing about the Orionids compared with other meteor showers, says Owens, is that the peak is fairly broad. "The Orionids last year were washed out by the moon, but the year before, the peak rate got above 20 an hour and lasted for seven days," he says. "So, although it's not as rapid, it is active for much longer. It's likely that any time from October 16 or 17 onwards, if you sit outside on a clear night for an hour or so, you will see a few. The higher the Orion constellation is in the sky, the more meteors you will see."
Owens is set to join Professor John Brown, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and astro photographer Sue Daly at the inaugural Dark Skye Star Party at the Clan Donald Centre in Armadale, on the Isle of Skye, on October 25.
Skye has some of the darkest night skies in Europe and, on clear evenings, more than 1,000 stars can be seen. The event will include a pop-up planetarium and display explaining how sailors and explorers navigate by the stars.
Stargazing For Dummies by Steve Owens is out now, priced £12.99. He runs regular stargazing breaks throughout the winter months. Visit darkskydiary.wordpress.com. Tickets for the Dark Skye Star Party cost £12.50, visit starparty-skye.co.uk
SUSAN SWARBRICK
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