Maldivians get to see Orionid “meteor shower” on Wednesday night

This meteor shower is going to reach its peak in the coming week and Dr. Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society has given a lot of information regarding this pre-dawn spectacle.

This is because October is when earth’s orbit crosses that of the stream of debris left behind the comet and it burns up in our atmosphere.

The Orionid shower is made from debris created by Halley’s Comet which comes into contact with our atmosphere every October.

These meteors are sometimes also called Halloween fireballs and they appear every year between the middle of October and November.

When can I see the Orionid meteor shower?

Astronomy Ireland are encouraging people to look to the heavens on the nights of 21-22 October.

That’s when it’s possible to see between 15 and 30 meteors every hour.

Astronomer David Moore said the great thing about the phenomenon is that it can be seen with the naked eye, although those living further away from artificial light will get the pick of the views.

For the second time in 2015, Venus and Jupiter will engage in a close conjunction, this time separated by just over 1 degree, Venus passing to the southwest (lower right) of Jupiter and shining more than 10 times brighter than the huge gas giant, according to space.com.

For the best view, pack a sleeping bag and lie on your back looking up.

You shouldn’t even need a telescope!

No, the Orionid meteor shower is visible with the naked eye.

Meteor showers are named by the region of the sky they appear to come from.