Meteor Shower

A meteor shower is an astronomical event in which hundreds or thousands of dust sized meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere and burn almost immediately, creating an ephemeral light in the night sky. These particles form a path called persistent meteor stream behind a comet that moves around the sun. When the Earth passes through this debris field, the result is a meteor shower. Because the meteors are rarely larger than a grain of sand, a meteor shower is usually not considered a threat to the planet.

Every night, observers on Earth can expect to see at least one or two meteors across the sky. There are literally dozens of different aspects of kite can produce a shower of shooting stars, the Earth moves through them. In most cases, only a small population in a limited area, you can enjoy a strong meteor shower in particular. Even the constant rain of meteors events, such as the Perseids and Leonids, vary in intensity every year.

A meteor shower is a very popular event for amateur astronomy, it does not require any special monitoring team to observe. Astronomy Club and local forecasts can thus offer rush hours and nights of meteor shower peak. Unfortunately, for some observers, the peak times are often very early in the morning. It is not uncommon for observers local to open their facilities for the meteor shower observation.

To see a meteor shower, the plan to leave the city lights behind you. Light pollution generated by the city is considered by professional astronomers. To minimize light pollution, you must drive at least 20 miles (32 km) away from any city grew.

A meteor shower is powered by a moonless night, a clear sky. Bring warm bedding or a sleeping bag near a beach or a folding chair. The hood of a car capable of providing enough support to see a meteor shower comfortably.

Once you find a good point of view, be prepared to scan the sky continuously. A meteor shower early success can be quite unexpected and ephemeral. Look for rays of light suddenly appeared from a specific point in the sky, usually a constellation of Perseus or Leo. Astronomers should be able to provide an exact point of origin of the shower activity, despite the attacks of individual meteors can appear anywhere. Continue to explore the sky, and keep an eye on the clock when the time is near the peak.

Sometimes a meteor shower can become an even more intense screen called a meteor shower. Such events are rare, but astronomers are often able to calculate the strength or weakness of a meteor coming. Each time a comet loses a considerable amount of material for a passage around the Sun, the flux of meteorites due in May will be particularly dense. Whenever the Earth passes through this debris field, a meteor shower can turn into a meteor shower.