SCIENCE FILE / An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment. : Star Tours

The Orionid meteor shower peaks on Saturday night and Sunday morning, when an observer in a dark location may see one meteor every three minutes. The meteors radiate from the direction of Orion, which rises before midnight, but appear all over the sky. Orionid meteors are caused when dust shed by Halley’s Comet long ago falls through our atmosphere and burns up because of air friction.