Tonight is the Orionid meteor shower 2012. Here's some meteor shower viewing tips to guide you on how to watch, enjoy and take photos.
Look for a dark sky: The Orionids tonight should be quite visible, and has regularly been so in recent years. For best viewing conditions, avoid the city lights, which can hamper your view. Another bonus is that the moon will be absent tonight at pre-dawn, allowing for more visibility of the meteor shower.
Schedule to wake up early: The best time to look is before sunrise on Sunday October 21. "Wake up a few hours before dawn, go outside and look up. No telescope is required to see Orionids shooting across the sky," NASA's Chat page.
Read also: Meteor Shower Today: Time and When to Watch at its Peak, NASA Live Stream and Chat
Stay warm: You may want to take your time observing the Orionids, so a warm jacket to ward off the predawn chill or a blanket may prove useful. Add a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and get cozy for a night of meteor shower watching.
Get comfortable: Bring out a reclining lawn chair, which will help ease neck strain from looking up for long periods of time.
Take photos: Use a SLR camera with ability to take long exposures. The camera, or remote, so "you can program the number of desired exposures, interval between shots, and time of exposure, hit the button, then walk away and let the camera shoot all night long (or until the batteries die)," according to the Examiner. A tripod is a must and an ultra-wide lens is best.
Or just watch it online: NASA is holding a live web chat between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. ET as well as a Ustream video feed. Click here for the link.
