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Tonight (10/21/09) is peak time to watch meteor shower

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afriend:
I spotted this in my daily science news reports this morning.

Every year in late October, the Earth passes through debris left behind by Halley's Comet, and some of that debris turns into meteors. If you're at the right place at the right time and looking in the right direction, you could see up to 20 meteors an hour in the Northern Hemisphere, or up to 40 an hour in the Southern Hemisphere.

Tonight (10/21/09) is the peak time to see the meteors. Look up the weather report for the date of the meteor shower. I looked up the forecast at the ranches and it will be clear there for a very good chance to see these. Fortunately, the moon will be in the waxing crescent phase, so its brightness won't interfere with seeing the meteors. If the weather is going to be cloudy in your area, though, you might be out of luck. If it's only cloudy on the peak night, you can try watching the meteors on other nights between the 17th and the 25th.

Choose a good spot. The further you get away from city lights, the better you'll be able to see the meteors. In the Northern Hemisphere, you'll want a spot where you have a clear view in an east/southeast direction (no trees or tall buildings on the horizon). In the Southern Hemisphere, you'll need to look in the east/northeast direction.

Some of the ranches may be a good spot to see this if you can get away from the lights looking towards the south/southeast. Go to your viewing spot during the early morning hours (between midnight and dawn). That's the best time to spot meteors because Earth moves into the debris field as it rotates into sunlight.

A graphical representation of Orion, with arrows pointing to other constellations/stars (reverse for Southern Hemisphere) is shown below to help you find the Orion constellation. The easiest thing to spot might be Orion's belt, a group of three stars in a straight line. Envision this belt as the "waist" of an hourglass. In the Northern Hemisphere, the hourglass will lean to the left. In the Southern Hemisphere, it'll lean to the right.

Good luck!
afriend

afriend:
I went out early this morning about 3:30am and did see one meteor.  Luckily in my area the southern sky was clear.

OldFatMan:
When I went out to look I got rain in my eyes.

georoc01:
For some reason, my hotel room in Vegas doesn't seem to work well. Maybe a trip out to Pahrump will give better viewing locations.

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