The November Orionid Meteor Shower.

The November Orionid Meteor Shower is visible between 13 November  and 6 December each year, with peak activity due on the night of Saturday 28 November 2020. The shower takes its name from the constellation of Monoceros (to the east of Orion), from which the meteors appear to radiate. At its peak the November Orionid Meteor Shower produces only about three meteors per hour, and with the Full Moon falling on  November 30 this month, viewing is unlikely to be particularly good.

 

The Radiant Point of the November Orionid Meteor Shower. The Sky Live 3D Solar System Simulator.

Meteor streams are thought to come from dust shed by comets as they come close to the Sun and their icy surfaces begin to evaporate away. Although the dust is separated from the comet, it continues to orbit the Sun on roughly the same orbital path, creating a visible meteor shower when the Earth crosses that path, and flecks of dust burn in the upper atmosphere, due to friction with the atmosphere. However, the parent body of the November Orionid Meteor Shower is unknown.

 

The Earth passing through a stream of comet dust, resulting in a meteor shower. Not to scale. Astro Bob.

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