I get email alerts from SpaceWeather.com whenever they have something interesting to report. For this weekend, a couple different things will be going on in the sky:
ORIONID METEOR SHOWER: This weekend, a mild but pretty flurry of meteors will shoot out of the constellation Orion. The source is Halley's Comet.
Although the comet itself is far away, ancient clouds of dust from the comet are nearby, and Earth is about to run through them. The best time to look is Saturday morning, Oct. 21st, just before local dawn. Dozens of meteors might streak across the sky during the hours before sunrise. Dark skies are recommended!
"Dark skies" means get away from the city lights. Here's the sky map, so you have a better chance of spotting the meteors.
AURORA WATCH: A solar wind stream is heading toward Earth, and it could spark a display of auroras when it arrives on Oct. 20th or 21st. Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.
Usually when they tell you to check for updates, that also includes looking after the fact at the photos different people around the world have taken and submitted to their site. They already have a gorgeous photo on their site, taken this past Sunday in Greenland.
There's lots of other cool stuff on the SpaceWeather site too. If you like the sky, you'll enjoy the website.
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