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2011 Meteor Showers
The next meteor shower is the Lyrids on the night of April 21. The Lyrids are a modest shower, with a dozen or two meteors per hour at best. The peak this year is during the day on April 22, so North American skywatchers get their best view before dawn that day. The gibbous Moon is in the way, however, so only the brightest meteors will shine through.
| Name | Date of Peak | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | night of January 3 | New |
| Lyrids | night of April 21 | Rises after midnight |
| Eta Aquarids | night of May 5 | Sets in early evening |
| Perseids | night of August 13 | Full |
| Draconids | night of October 8 | Sets around midnight |
| Orionids | night of October 21 | Rises after midnight |
| Leonids | night of November 17 | Rises around midnight |
| Geminids | night of December 13 | Just past full |
What are meteor showers?
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year is called a meteor shower.Comets shed the debris that becomes most meteor showers. As comets orbit the Sun, they shed an icy, dusty debris stream along the comet's orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Depending on where Earth and the stream meet, meteors appear to fall from a particular place in the sky, maybe within the neighborhood of a constellation.
Meteor showers are named by the constellation from which meteors appear to fall, a spot in the sky astronomers call the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is located in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.
What are shooting stars?
"Shooting stars" and "falling stars" are both names that people have used for many hundreds of years to describe meteors -- intense streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids crashing and burning high in Earth's upper atmosphere. Traveling at thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite in searing friction of the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.When a meteor appears, it seems to "shoot" quickly across the sky, and its small size and intense brightness might make you think it is a star. If you're lucky enough to spot a meteorite (a meteor that makes it all the way to the ground), and see where it hits, it's easy to think you just saw a star "fall."
How can I best view a meteor shower?
If you live near a brightly lit city, drive away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate.For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August.
After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruin your sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites.
Once you have settled at your observing spot, lie back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.
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