Technologies
Meteor Shower Season Heats Up as Orionids and Taurids Activate
Earth is set to pass through a series of dusty clouds of space debris from Halley’s Comet and others that promise to light up night skies.
August’s Perseid meteor shower may be the most well known of the year, but it’s the last quarter of the year that brings the most shooting-star and fireball action to night skies.Â
As of this week, both the Orionid and Southern Taurid meteor showers are active. While the Orionids aren’t set to peak until around Oct. 20, they still add some shooting stars to each evening right away. The Taurids, on the other hand, don’t have a very defined peak and are forecast to be visible at a rate of around two per hour over the next several weeks.Â
Adding to the celestial drama is the Taurids’ reputation for delivering a number of bright fireballs streaking through the sky.Â
“In 2022, the Earth passed through a swarm of Taurid fireballs,” writes Bob Lunsford for the American Meteor Society. “This year we are further from this swarm but will still encounter some fireball activity.”
The Taurids can be traced to debris from the comet 2P/Encke, while the Orionids are connected to the leavings of the famed Halley’s Comet, which visits the inner solar system only about every 75 years. The celebrity snowball won’t be back until 2061.
Two distinct clouds from Halley’s Comet are responsible for both the Orionids each October and the Eta Aquariids meteor shower in May.Â
How to see the celestial show
When the Orionids peak between Oct 20 and 22, the conditions should be nearly perfect, especially with the moonless sky on the morning of the 22nd in the hours just before dawn. Most nights, the area near the constellation of Orion the Hunter where the Orionids appear to radiate from will be highest in the sky around 2 a.m. But it may be possible to see the meteors anytime between midnight and dawn.Â
The Orionids are known for zipping through the sky at relatively high speed and often leaving long trains that can linger for a second or two.Â
During those peak mornings, the number of Orionid meteors will suddenly increase to between 10 and 20 per hour, but sometimes Earth passes through a particularly dense pocket of debris and those rates shoot up to 50 to 70, rivaling the Perseids.Â
While it’s worth marking the Orionids’ peak on your calendar, you might be able to catch a handful of meteors and a fireball on any given night over the next several weeks.Â
If you have at least an hour free on a night with clear skies and a location away from light pollution, all you need to do is find an area with a broad view of the night sky. Allow at least 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and then just relax, lie back and watch.
You’ll hear seasoned skywatchers talking about orienting yourself to face the radiant of a particular meteor shower. The radiant is the section of the sky from which certain meteors will appear to radiate outward. Meteor showers are usually named for a constellation within that radiant, so the Orionids are named for Orion.Â
If you can locate Orion in the sky and orient yourself in that direction, it might boost your viewing experience slightly. But the reality is that most amateurs won’t notice a difference. It’s far more important to have dark skies away from light pollution and the widest view of the sky possible. While meteors might originate from a certain radiant, they go all over the sky from that point, so it really doesn’t matter much which way you face.Â
Plus, there are more than Orionids up there on most nights. There are also the aforementioned Taurids, smaller showers like the Anthelion and even sporadic meteors that aren’t part of defined showers.Â
So just plan for at least an hour outside, preferably between midnight and dawn, for the best chance to make it through lulls in activity and spotting a few meteors. Be sure to bring all you need to be comfortable that long: Blankets, snacks and drinks are a good idea. Good luck!
Technologies
Anthropic warns investors of AI’s ‘existential risk to humanity’ in IPO prospectus, reports say
Anthropic’s IPO filing dedicates 80 pages to the risks of AI, nearly double the 48 pages it spends discussing its business plans, according to Reuters.
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Technologies
U.S., Iran hold separate mediator talks as Mideast oil exports hit war-time high
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.
Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire.
Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February.
An outright export ban by Washington on diesel would keep roughly 1.2 million barrels a day at home, and risks overwhelming Gulf Coast storage, according to Kpler.
The building of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh primary school is pictured surrounded by rubble in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province on August 10, 2026. Six months on, a team of AFP journalists obtained rare access to the school which has remained largely in ruins, its collapsed walls and twisted steel now surrounded by portraits of the children killed as Iranian flags flutter above the rubble. Iran says the attack on the school involved two separate US Tomahawk missiles but neither the United States nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility for the strike. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. and Iranian officials have reportedly held separate indirect talks with mediators on Monday, reviving efforts to end seven months of war as Tehran presses for a response to a revised ceasefire framework and Middle East crude exports climb to their highest level since the conflict began.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York, where he remained after the United Nations General Assembly, and reportedly said he expects Washington’s reply by Tuesday. “We talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran’s conditions,” Araghchi said, adding that he planned to return to Tehran once a response arrives. “Whenever the Qataris have a response, they know how to get it to us.”
Iran’s proposal, first presented on the sidelines of last week’s General Assembly, calls for a four- to five-day U.S. timeline to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, with nuclear talks beginning within seven days. Tehran has tied any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to those steps.
President Donald Trump had on Sunday called the plan “unacceptable” and rejected it, telling reporters Iran wants a swift deal because of the economic pressure it is under. Speaking at the White House Monday, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but gave no further details, adding: “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly.”
The diplomatic push comes as physical supply data shows the war’s toll on the oil market easing. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, Kpler data showed. “Middle East crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels,” the tracking firm said in a note on Monday.
The Strait of Hormuz itself remains far from normal. Kpler’s real-time tracking showed total clearance through the strait at 10,591 kilobarrels a day on Saturday, against a pre-war baseline of 17,133.
Technologies
Oil prices fall as crude exports recover at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports
Saudi Arabia has restored flows through the pipeline to around 3.5 million barrels per day, according to media reports.
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