Meteor Showers

Meteor Shower

There is a difference between a major meteor shower and a minor meteor shower. Minor meteor showers are events that produce little observable activity, usually less than ten meteors per hour, however they do occur at similar times during the year.  It is also quite often that a Greek letter is used at the start of the minor meteor shower’s name.

For example, the Greek letter “γ” or Gamma is placed at the start of the shower’s name.  The minor meteor shower occurring now, the (γ-Normids) Gamma Normids started February 25th and will continue to be active until March 22nd. The shower should be the strongest on March 14th, but don’t expect to see meteors shimmering all over the sky for this one is just a minor event. If you want to give this meteor shower a chance, try going out in the morning hours of March 14th and look for the constellation Norma. The bad news is that there will be little activity, but the good news is that a waning crescent Moon with only 1% of the Moon visible will be in the sky.  This means that if there are meteors, one should be able to spot them in a dark morning sky.  Norma is a small triangle of stars between Scorpius and Centaurus. Scorpius is best known for contrasting blue and yellow stars within it and it’s large size in the sky. Meteor shower viewers might see about six to ten meteors per hour during the peak and a few scattered meteors during the showers start to finish.

On an additional note, not all meteors that one observes have to be part of a specific meteor shower. There are plenty of sporadic meteors that streak across the sky each year. On any given night or morning a viewer may see about five meteors not associated with any particular event. These meteors are called “sporadic meteors” as they are capricious and can be seen virtually anywhere in the sky.

The next meteor shower of any real intensity is the Lyrids Meteor Shower that occurs in April. Please bookmark the site and join the mailing list because better and stronger meteor showers are on the way!

Keep your head up.

- Meteor Mark

A Comet - Credit: NASA

A meteor shower happens when a cluster of meteoroids orbiting the Sun cross the path of the Earth’s orbit. The meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere at a similar time each year. Their path is also roughly the same; therefore they seem to radiate from a certain spot in the sky. So where do the meteoroids come from that cause meteor showers? Typically, comets that also orbit our Sun will have a trail of debris following them. This trail of debris is filled with meteoroids. A meteoroid is a small, stony or metallic object. Meteoroids are made up of materials similar to asteroids, but are much smaller. Asteroids and meteoroids are generally made up of minerals such as quartz or ferrous metals like iron and/or nickel. They can be as small as a grain of sand or dust particle or as large as the size of large boulders.

Let’s use the Perseids Meteor Shower as an example. The Perseids gets their name from the constellation Perseus because of the fact that they seem to stem from a point near that constellation. Debris in orbit around our Sun following a trail from the Swift-Tuttle comet causes the Perseids Meteor Shower.

So try to imagine a comet as a racecar passing you by on a circular track, the dust following the racecar is the meteoroids and you are the Earth. If you pass into the trail of the dust you will be hit by the particles, however if you are not in the path of the dust particles they will still follow the racecar around the track. Just remember in space there is no air resistance so these dust particles will have an easier time remaining in an orbit around our Sun because of gravity from the comet and other objects.

There is very little meteor shower activity from now until April so I will be posting more meteor facts to keep you interested until the next meteor shower comes into a town near you!

Keep your head up.

- Meteor Mark

Minor Meteor Shower

The next meteor shower, the α-Centaurids, has started. The Alpha Centaurids is a minor meteor shower with usually very little activity. This meteor shower will peak on February 8th and will remain active until February February 21st.  Although this shower is considered consistent, it doesn’t produce amazing meteor displays. Meteor gazers can expect about five meteors per hour during the peak date.

Because during the first quarter of the year there is a lack of strong meteor showers until April it’s a good time to browse around this blog and get acquainted with all of the meteor showers of last year. Meteor showers occur during the same months each year, you will find old blog posts about other meteor showers that will help you know when the meteor showers are coming this year. I will be posting new information and meteor facts, so in the meantime, bookmark the site, join the mailing list and keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark

Norma Constellation

I missed the Quadrantids Meteor Shower due to extreme cold and snowfall. It is always one of my favorite meteor showers of the year. Sadly, during January through March meteor activity practically drops to nothing. A few minor meteor showers will occur between now and April when the Lyrids come back into town.

The α-Centaurids start January 28th and will peak in early February. This is usually a minimal event but this year there is a possibility that a waning crescent moon will help viewers see a few more meteors. Another meteor shower, the γ-Normids will start in late February, both the α-Centaurids and the γ-Normids usually produce about 6 meteors per hour, but this year there is a minute possibility of up to 25 meteors per hour for the α-Centaurids during their peak on February 8th.

You may be wondering about the title of this blog. The reference to the Centaur is obvious, but what about the other? Norma is a small constellation that represents a carpenter’s square.  All meteor showers are named after their radiant. The radiant is the point in the sky where meteors seem to originate from. I will be making a few blog posts between now and April so please bookmark the site and join the mailing list to receive monthly information that will make you aware of all the best monthly meteor showers.

Keep your head up!

- Meteor Mark