Leaves are flying in the wind, streaming from the trees like shooting stars in a meteor shower. I took a walk on a recent blustery afternoon and tried my best to catch falling leaves. I only managed to grab a single one despite many attempts. It's not easy predicting the trajectory of a leaf in a fall gale. "Catching" meteors is much easier!

On Monday night, Oct. 20-21, we'll have that opportunity. That's when the spawn of Halley's Comet in the form of the Orionid meteor shower will peak. Every 76 years or so, when the famous comet returns to the inner solar system, solar heating vaporizes some of its dust-rich ice. The dust spreads out around the comet to create a fuzzy head, while sunlight gently pushes the material away from the head to form a tail. Some of the debris ends up in Halley

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