How to spot the Orionid meteor shower in Northern Ireland tonight

Skygazers in Northern Ireland are set for a dazzling light display this week as the Orionid meteor shower streaks through our night skies.

If you stay up late or set your alarm, you could be rewarded with a sight of up to 25 “very bright” shooting stars an hour, which can be seen with the naked eye.

The spectacle, this year peaking from October 21-22, occurs every year as Earth travels through the debris from the famous Halley’s Comet.

Views will be clearest from rural locations away from street lights.

NASA deems the Orionids as one of the most beautiful showers in the year, which are visible in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres after midnight.

Fingers crossed for clear skies. Good luck stargazing, don't forget to wrap up warm and remember to follow social distancing rules.

Now take a look at things you probably didn't know about shooting stars:

1. They aren't actually stars

Despite their commonly used name 'shooting star' they are not a star at all, they are in fact small particles of dust and space rocks.

2. They're not comets either

Many people get confused between comets and meteors. Meteors are pieces of dust and fragments from a comet that become the meteoroids which enter the Earth's atmosphere.

3. Their technical names are: meteoroid / meteor / meteorite

Technically the meteoroid is the lump of rock or dust, the meteor is the flash of light that you can see and the meteorite is what hits the ground (if it survives).

4. The best meteor shower is called the Perseids

The Perseids, which peak on the 12th August every year, consistently give stargazers a fantastic display of meteors. Usually observers can expect around 50 meteors an hour, however in 1993 stargazers were treated with up to 500 meteors an hour!

5. They are named after constellations

Meteor showers are named after the area of the sky they appear to come from, for example the Lyrids look like they're coming from Lyra (the lyre) constellation, while the Perseids appear to come from Perseus.

6. They are incredibly fast

Meteors are incredibly fast and have been observed travelling at 25,000 mph to 160,000 mph.

7. Particles hit us every day

Every day, millions of particles of dust hit our atmosphere, but a lot of them are too small for us to see.

8. The rocks are very old

Studies show that those meteoroids that hit the Earth (and become meteorites) contain some of the oldest known rocks in the Solar System. Many of those are from Mars.

9. Meteorite death

Sadly in 2016 a taxi driver in India was killed when he was hit by something from the sky. It is believed that he was killed by a meteorite as it left a four-foot crater behind. If it was a meteorite that killed him then it would be the first time in two centuries since this has happened.

10. NATO used their trails for communication

Many years ago, NATO used the ionised trails from meteoroids to establish communication paths between radio stations.

Imagine that! 🌠