• Will you see any Orionid meteors tonight? You might. The peak of the shower was Sunday morning, October 21, 2012. But meteor showers aren't just one-night events. In fact, they can last for several weeks, as Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by a comet, in this case, the famous

Comet Halley. If you peered in a dark sky between midnight and dawn on the night of October 21-22, it's possible - perhaps likely - you'd see some meteors flying.
• Just watch out for the first quarter moon. The moon will rise in the middle of the day today, and appear half-illuminated, like half a pie. It'll be in a blue daytime sky until nightfall. It'll set around midnight. You'll see more meteors after the moon has set!
• Diana from Potsdam, NY noticed an interesting phenomenon about the autumn first quarter moon. She asked:
• Why are the evening crescent and the first quarter moon always so low in the autumn evening sky?
• The answer is that, as seen from our Northern Hemisphere, the ecliptic - or pathway of the moon and planets - appears low in the southern sky on autumn evenings. That's why the waxing crescent moon and the first quarter moon always loom low in the sky in September and October, as seen from this hemisphere.
• As darkness falls tonight in North America, the moon will be only hours away from the crest of its exactly half-lit first quarter phase. The exact quarter moon comes late this evening, at 10:32 p.m. Central Daylight Time (3:32 UTC on October 22), at which juncture the moon will be low in the southwestern sky.

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