Orionids This Weekend

A large high pressure system centered over eastern Tennessee this morning will drift across the east coast this weekend, providing us with sunny & mild weather conditions. Highs will be in the 70's. A few spots across the interior could flirt with 80 Saturday afternoon. There may be a little bit more of a sea breeze component to the wind Sunday, so temperatures in sea breeze prone places may be a few degrees lower Sunday afternoon. The Orionid meteor shower peaks during the predawn hours Sunday morning. Conditions should be good for viewing with a mostly clear sky, no moonlight interference, and reasonable temperatures in the 40's-low 50's. Theoretically, you can see up to 20-25 meteors per hour if you have a very dark sky (i.e. no artificial light interference), but in practice, most of us will see a much lower rate than this. The Orionids are very fast moving meteors that are produced by debris from Halley's Comet. They will appear to originate from a point near Orion's club (see image above) high in the southeastern sky, but will travel in all directions across the sky, so if you are up before sunrise and can't find Orion, just look straight up. Have a great weekend!