The Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies has issued a release stating Sri Lankans can witness the peak of the Orionids meteor shower later tonight (21).
According to the institute the spectacle will be visible after 11.30 p.m by looking in the direction of the Orion (the Hunter) constellation which will be at around 15 degrees above the eastern to north eastern horizon.
With unobstructed dark skies and minimal light pollution it will be possible to see as many as approximately 20 meteors per hour at its peak.
The meteor shower of Orionids is produced when the Earth passes through the debris trail left behind by Halley's Comet. When these particles collide with the Earth's atmosphere they produce short, bright bursts of light in the evening sky.
It is named the Orionids because the meteors appear to radiate from the Orion constellation.
By Nidarshani Wickramasinghe
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