Home > Ephemeris Program, Meteor Shower, Observing > Ephemeris: 10/20/2023 – Halley’s Comet is back! Sort of.

Ephemeris: 10/20/2023 – Halley’s Comet is back! Sort of.

October 20, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Friday, October 20th. Today the Sun will be up for 10 hours and 45 minutes, setting at 6:50, and it will rise tomorrow at 8:05. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 10:42 this evening.

Halley’s Comet is back! (Pronounced Hall-ey’s) Well sorta. In the form of the Orionid meteor shower. Bits of Halley’s Comet from previous passes by the Earth’s orbit make their twice-yearly show in our skies as these bits collide with the Earth’s atmosphere. Halley’s orbit passes close to the earth’s orbit at points where the Earth is around May 6th and again near October 21st. Light dust and ionized gas get blown back into the tail of the comet. Heavier particles, still affected by the pressure of sunlight and the gravitational pull of the Sun and planets end up roughly following the comet’s orbit. In the morning after the Moon sets (11:55 pm on the 21st) should be the best time to see them. They will seem to come from a spot above Orion and below Gemini.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Sky Dome for the Orionids based on the sky at 2 am, October 22, 2023. The radiant for the Orionids is marked with yellow streaks with the label OriR near Orion’s upraised arm holding a club above Betelgeuse in the east. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app.

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