Orionid Meteors Dazzle Skywatchers
Skywatchers and photographers set out into the night in October of 2017 to see the annual Orion meteor shower. Here are some of their most amazing photos.
Here:
Skywatching at Sunrise
An Orionid meteor passes over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of New Jersey just before sunrise on Oct. 21.
On Orion's Shoulders
An Orionid meteor passes between the shoulders of Orion the Hunter. Orionid meteors typically appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion.
Into the Green
An Orionid fireball passes behind an ocotillo plant in this shot taken at Big Bend National Park in Texas in this shot by Sergio Garcia Rill.
The Orion Nebula
"The point was to capture Orionid meteors, but I captured a few other nice objects in the shot as a bonus," astrophotographer John Chumack told Space.com in an email. "Also visible on the eastern most star in Orion's Belt (Alnitak) are the glow of the Maple Leaf nebula and Famous Horsehead nebula, and below the belt is the Sword of Orion. 'The Great Orion Nebula'(pink/blue), with the Running Man reflection nebula (blue) just above it."
Over the Ocean
An Orionid meteor heads into the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.
Shooting Stars and a Shipwreck
An Orionid meteor streaks across the sky over a shipwreck on the coast of New Jersey.
Emanating from Orion
An Orionid meteor streaks away from the constellation Orion in this view captured from the Jersey Shore on Saturday (Oct. 21).
Orion the Hunter
The constellation Orion the Hunter takes center stage in this Orionid meteor shower shot by astrophotographer Gowrishankar Lakshminarayanan. He captured these Orionid meteors streaking through the sky over New York's Catskill Mountains on Saturday (Oct. 21).
A Meteor 'Faceplant'
A meteor appears to pierce the Earth in this shot of the 2017 Orionid meteor shower. Photographer Sergio Garcia Rill was setting up a second camera at Big Bend National Park in Texas when he snapped this self-portrait.
A (Shooting) Starry Night
An Orionid meteor darts through the night sky in Shenandoah, Virginia at 4:33 a.m. EDT on Saturday (Oct. 21). You can watch the entire early-morning Orionid photo shoot on YouTube in 4K.
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