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Questions tagged [meteor-shower]

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11 votes
3 answers
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How is Halley's comet still in one piece?

According to the first answer of This question parts of Halley's comet hit the Earth every spring as part of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. If this is true, then how is the comet still in one piece? ...
Deko Revinio's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
54 views

Could a rogue comet perturb a frequently occurring meteor shower to the extent that debris falls on Earth...and dislodges satellites?

This is for a work of fiction that I started five years ago. Clever people from Astronomy Stacks answered several questions for me back then. Now that I am in the final edit of this manuscript, I find ...
Evelyn 's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
60 views

How can you usefully determine the dimensions of the perseides meteor shower band earth passes through?

Yesterday the annual perseides meteor shower peaked (and I was lucky to see a handful of wakes). Since the bits from Swift-Tuttle have distributed to form a band of debris over the millenia and earth ...
raddaqii's user avatar
  • 151
12 votes
1 answer
4k views

What was the large green yellow thing streaking across the sky?

I just saw a large green yellow streak cross the sky. It looked like a shooting star but way bigger. It seemed closer too. I’m in North Garden VA. It was heading north. It lasted for 5-7 seconds.
Diane 's user avatar
  • 129
2 votes
0 answers
54 views

Why would a meteor shower have 2 areas of origination and 2 directions of travel?

I watched for the herculid shower last night and saw several. There were 2 general areas of activity in the sky. I would place them at 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock with 12 directly over head. 1/2 the ...
Judd Stover's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
42 views

Is the Arid meteor shower the first to be discovered photographically?

@planetmaker's answer to How can Mercury's sodium tail be imaged? links to Ciel et Espace (Sky and Space) and browsing through I found this tantalizing beginning of an article (reading the rest ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
1 vote
0 answers
35 views

What is a "rare earthgrazer" and why might I see one during the Perseids "earlier in the night" moving slow, across the horizon?

I clicked on a Yahoo News link How to watch the Perseids — the best meteor shower of the year and saw the following sentence: The meteors are very fast and bright, regularly leaving long tails of ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
6 votes
1 answer
358 views

Why do we only have one major meteor shower from 3200 Phaethon?

When talking to my son about the Geminid meteor shower tonight, we read up on 3200 Phaethon, and were curious: why is there only one meteor shower from 3200 Phaethon, and not two? Given its orbit, ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 163
3 votes
1 answer
421 views

What comet's tail did Earth pass through before Halley's?

This answer to Any record of the Earth passing through the tail (not trail) of a comet? mentions Earth passed through the tail of Halley's Comet in 1910. It caused a bit of a panic due to claims that ...
uhoh's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
211 views

Any record of the Earth passing through the tail (not trail) of a comet?

Discussion below the Space SE question How hard is it to fly through the tail of a comet? Has it been done? has led me to ask if there is any record of the Earth passing through the tail of a comet. ...
uhoh's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
33 views

I witnessed a steady stream of falling stars slowly falling one after another this morning. What was it? [duplicate]

This morning at 6:18am I witnessed a steady stream of falling stars that lasted at least 90 seconds from the time I noticed it. I live on a farm east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and the stars were ...
Evelyn Spooner's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
35 views

What meteor shower has the radiant that appears furthest west after sunset, and why?

When it finally gets answered, answers to How to calculate the position of a meteor shower's radiant point based on its associated comet's orbit? will help us understand why the radiant points ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
5 votes
1 answer
303 views

What determines if a comet's debris will produce periodic meteor showers?

Background I was wondering if the debris from the comet NEOWISE that recently passed Earth would provide meteor showers in the future. I looked up that the Perseid meteor showers happen when the Earth ...
mihirb's user avatar
  • 153
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Where is the Perseids meteor shower coming from?

Swift–Tuttle Comet has orbital period of 133.28 years. Yet, people say that debris and dust from this comet causes this meteor shower. This does not make any sense. Or do they want to say that from ...
ScienceDiscoverer's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
55 views

How significantly does the intensity of a meteor shower diminish after the peak?

Every August 12 I take the family to the desert to enjoy the Perseid meteor shower. This year there will be an especially bright moon rising before 1:00, which is when the shower really peaks. Last ...
dotancohen's user avatar
  • 1,763
4 votes
0 answers
166 views

How to calculate the position of a meteor shower's radiant point based on its associated comet's orbit?

Below this answer to Why are Delta Aquariids “for the southern hemisphere” while the Perseids are “for the north”? I wrote the comment: +1 To make this complete, ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
2 votes
1 answer
84 views

Why are Delta Aquariids "for the southern hemisphere" while the Perseids are "for the north"?

In the video How to spot Comet NEOWISE, plus the largest 3D map of the Universe | Night Sky News July 20 after 05:28 Dr. Becky (Smethurst, Oxford astrophysicist) ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
2 votes
0 answers
69 views

Have meteor showers been predicted for planets or solar-system bodies other than Earth? Have attempts been made to detect them?

Per the linked Q's and A's in Why do particles from a comet that result in meteor showers spread out mostly along the comet's orbit? and it's answer, meteor showers happen on Earth when it passes ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
8 votes
2 answers
639 views

Why do particles from a comet that result in meteor showers spread out mostly along the comet's orbit?

My understanding of the meteor showers that repeat yearly is that the Earth passes through the orbit of a comet that is nowhere near us, and might not even exist anymore, yet it's orbit is filled with ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
2 votes
1 answer
58 views

Actual meteor sightings formula

I'm trying to realistically approximate the value of meteor sightings during a meteor shower because I don't want to have high expectations going in. I have a couple questions about this formula I ...
C. Wagner's user avatar
  • 163
4 votes
2 answers
164 views

Quadrantids Meteor Shower 2020 viewing times

It's my first time going to see the Quadrantids Meteor Shower, or any meteor shower in fact. I just want to know if I'm getting the right info for viewing this event. I got my info from this site ...
C. Wagner's user avatar
  • 163
0 votes
1 answer
36 views

For any given meteor shower in a given year (e.g. Quadrantids, now) where can I see a rough prediction of how many days it will last?

For a given shower the rate hitting the Earth's atmosphere versus time is usually a peak with a width of a few days, though there are some exceptional unicors. Is there a place where I can view this ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
1 vote
2 answers
48 views

Do meteor showers start slowly each night?

Does the frequency of the number of visible meteors during a daily shower start off lower at the beginning only to increase as the night goes on or does the frequency remain the same for the entire ...
Bob516's user avatar
  • 1,599
3 votes
1 answer
72 views

Are the Leonid meteor storms a thing of the past?

According to the Wikipedia article on the Leonids, "a close encounter with Jupiter is expected to perturb the comet's path, and many streams, making storms of historic magnitude unlikely for many ...
Empiromancer's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
176 views

What makes some meteor showers continue for days, while the "Unicorn shower" can be shorter than one hour?

The Washington Post's One hundred meteors in 15 minutes? ‘Short-lived outburst’ of shooting stars forecast for Thursday night. says: A “short-lived outburst” is forecast for Thursday evening around ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
8 votes
1 answer
146 views

How uniformly is cometary debris distributed along the entire orbit of the comet?

Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through debris shed by a comet (if I get that right). Does this mean that the entire orbit of the comet is strewn with debris? I suppose that the debris follows ...
LocalFluff's user avatar
  • 11.1k
2 votes
4 answers
203 views

Why don't all perseid meteors follow the same trajectory?

Since these bits of debris crossing Earth's orbit have the same relative speed, why aren't they drawing parallel paths in the upper atmosphere? (consider one hour of observation to minimise Earth's ...
jkztd's user avatar
  • 401
1 vote
1 answer
400 views

What is the maximum Clear Sky Light Pollution rating to see the 2018 Perseid Meteor Shower?

I'm talking about the Light Pollution ratings on this page: http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/faq/2.html I live in an area which is a 7 on the Bortle Scale ("red" on clearsky.com), but within 2 hours ...
Alex R's user avatar
  • 163
13 votes
2 answers
274 views

Why would the Perseids meteor rate fall off after maximum faster than the increase before maximum?

Writing about the 2018 occurrence of the annual Perseids meteor shower, the EarthSky.org Astronomy Essentials article Start watching for Perseids now says: People tend to focus on the peak mornings ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
2 votes
1 answer
86 views

Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing events near Chicago

I'm going to be in Chicago during the weekend of Aug 11th, 2018. Can you suggest any viewing parties that are not too far away? I'm very very amateur. I don't really know too much about astronomy, ...
supun's user avatar
  • 21
4 votes
1 answer
100 views

Is it possible to image a meteor so the rock is visible?

I was wondering what one would see if they were to look through a telescope tracking a meteor as it shot through the sky. Technology aside, would one be able to see the object tumbling or would it ...
Grantovius's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
504 views

pH of meteorite [closed]

When a meteorite shower strikes a water body, what will be the pH of the water after the strike. Will it always be $<7$ or Will it always be $>7$ or Will it always be $=7$ or The answer ...
Agile_Eagle's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
141 views

Meteor shower predicted to be best viewed BEFORE midnight (for reasons other than the moon)?

Reading that the Leonids meteor shower is almost upon us, I clicked some links (e.g. EarthSky.org and NatGeo) to read more of the prediction; especially the part about when to best view them. I had a ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
3 votes
1 answer
63 views

Will I be able to see the Leonid Meteor Shower during mid night?

Most of the articles online say that the peak will be in a couple of days and around 2:00 AM in the night. I am currently living in Dubai, UAE. When I use Google Sky Maps, it shows both the Leonids ...
Shahid Thaika's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
207 views

Fact Check: How bright will the Perseids be in 2017?

A friend sent me an email which appears to be an extract from this Cambridge News article: A meteor shower astronomers have labelled 'a once in a lifetime opportunity' will take over the sky in ...
Beta Decay's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
183 views

Meteor shower from Moon's "debris"

Did we ever witness a "meteor shower" which was actually dust or debris of some kind from our own Moon?
errata's user avatar
  • 143
4 votes
1 answer
240 views

If Earth had no atmosphere, how many people would be killed by meteors every year? [closed]

Suppose those people engage in similar activity, walking on surface etc.
Anixx's user avatar
  • 1,229
0 votes
1 answer
51 views

In relation to Meteor Showers, what is meant by Lambda Omicron?

I see for example, the L.O. of the Quadrantids is 283.16 and Lyrids is 32.32. src: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_meteor_showers
MiscellaneousUser's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
125 views

Can you view the Perseid meteor shower anywhere on Earth?

The peak viewing dates of the 2016 Perseid Meteor Shower is said to be between the dates of August 11 through the early morning hours of August 12. Being a resident of the United States, I keep ...
steelersquirrel's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
226 views

How to calculate a meteor's entrance altitude to Earth's atmosphere? [closed]

Also, in which altitude did fireball went thermal explosion?
Deniz da King's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
283 views

What (actually) is Jupiter doing to this year's Perseids meteor shower?

After reading the Astronomy Magazine article Perseid meteor shower set for its best show in nearly 20 years and NASA's Look Up! Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Aug. 11-12, I understand that Jupiter's ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 30.8k
1 vote
1 answer
82 views

Will the 2016 Perseid meteor shower be visible in Sydney, Australia?

As the title states, will viewers in Sydney, Australia be able to see the Perseid meteor shower in August, 2016? Assume the viewer is well outside of the city and light pollution is a minimal problem. ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
290 views

Was the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower ever near Vega thousands of years ago?

The ancient Chinese story of the Weaver Girl (Altair) and the Cowherd (Vega) tell of starcrossed lovers who are only allowed to meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th (Chinese) lunar month, ...
MAS's user avatar
  • 33
0 votes
1 answer
559 views

Can a meteor shower happen simultaneously all around the planet?

In the original book, the classic 1962 movie and the modern 2001 re-make for TV. The store "The day of the Triffits" depicts a meteor shower that happen all around the Earth at the same time, and ...
Reactgular's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
123 views

Do massive bolide entries coincide with meteor showers?

Are exceptionally large, bright, meteors (such as Tunguska or Chelyabinsk) more common during common meteor showers like the Perseids, or the Leonids? If not, why is that? Do the meteor showers ...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 6,167