Last night’s Tucson video data showed a slight decrease in the number of Orionids. The previous two nights saw 52 and 54 meteors, so last night’s 45 is a bit lower. According to all of the naked eye observations submitted to the International Meteor Organization, the peak occurred on Tuesday morning with a ZHR in the mid-40s.
Now that we are passed the peak in Orionid activity, is it too late to observe? Not at all. You still have tonight and perhaps tomorrow night to see a good number of meteors. Though rates will be lower, the Orionids will still produce a half-dozen or so meteors per hour from a semi-dark suburban site. Darker sites will see even more meteors. Remember, you will see no Orionids before 10pm, and it is best to observe after midnight.
Obs Date (UT) TotTime TOT SPO NTA STA ORI EGE LMI Carl 2008-10-22 11h 10m 74 25 1 2 45 0 1 Bob 2008-10-22 1h 49m 138 27 4 5 80 20 2
TotTime – Total amount of time each camera looked for meteors
TOT – total number of meteors detected
SPO – Sporadics (meteors not affiliated with any particular meteor shower)
NTA – Northern Taurids
STA – Southern Taurids
ORI – Orionids
EGE – Epsilon Gemininds
LMI – Leo Minorids
The Transient Sky - Comets, Asteroids, Meteors 