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Orionid meteor shower overshadowed this year

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Every year in October, the Earth passes through the tail of Halley's comet, giving sky-watchers a show of around 20 meteors an hour.

In 2016, that show will peak tonight, Oct. 20, and into Friday morning.

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Unfortunately for everyone anticipating this event, the moon is likely to outshine many of the visible meteors.

More than half of the moon's surface will be illuminated for nearly the entire night, and the glare will make it difficult to view any of these meteors, no matter how many there are.

The annual Orionid meteor shower usually begins in mid-October and lasts for roughly ten days every year, but a few stragglers have been seen as late as a week into November.

The next chance to see this many meteors won't come until the Geminids in mid-December.

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