Some lucky night sky watchers caught a glimpse of a brand-new meteor shower Monday night, as Earth passed through a trail of crumbled comet debris. It peaked at around 1 a.m. ET, with 10 to 25 meteors per hour spotted raining down through a rickety comet. The night sky, according to EarthSky.com, described the meteor shower as “decent.” Video linked above: Falling stars return with the Lyrids peak, new meteor showers like this one are relatively rare. NASA described the meteor shower as an “all-or-nothing event.” Comet, officially known as 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, or SW3, was discovered in 1930 by German observers Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachman. NASA said it wasn’t spotted again until the late 1970s, and in the 1990s the comet broke into several pieces. The statement said. It wasn’t clear if the debris would hit Earth’s atmosphere fast enough to cause meteor showers, every year, there are about 30 meteor showers, which occur when Earth passes through a debris trail left by a comet or asteroid, with the naked eye. Some meteor showers have been around for centuries. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs every year in August, was first observed about 2,000 years ago and recorded by Chinese astronomers, according to NASA. Although Robert Lunsford, Secretary General of the International Meteor Organization, said tau Herculids had been incorrectly named, in a blog written before Monday’s meteor shower, he said it would appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, the illustrious northwest. The orange star known as Arcturus (alpha Bootis). More meteor showers There are many other opportunities to see meteor showers this year. Delta Aquarids are best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28 and 29, when the moon is 74% full. Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks at the same time. Tonight – Alpha Capricorn. Although this shower is much weaker, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible to everyone, regardless of which side of the equator they are located. It will peak between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere. The rest of the year, according to EarthSky’s meteor shower forecast. 8: Dragon 21: Orionids 4-5: South Tauris 11-12: North Tauris 17: Leonids 13-14: Gemini 22: Ursids
Some lucky sky-watchers caught a glimpse of a brand-new meteor shower Monday night, as Earth passed through a trail of crumbling comet debris.
The meteor shower peaked around 1 a.m. ET, with 10 to 25 meteors per hour spotted falling into the night sky, according to the EarthSky.com, which described the meteor shower as “decent”.
Video linked above: The return of the bright stars with the Lyrids peak
New meteor showers like this one are relatively rare. NASA described meteor showers as “All or nothing happened.”
Comet, officially known as 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, or SW3, was discovered in 1930 by German observers Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachman. NASA said it wasn’t spotted again until the late 1970s, and in the 1990s the comet broke into several pieces.
By the time SW3 passed Earth again in 2006, it was made up of about 70 pieces, and has continued to fragment further since then, the statement said. It was not clear if the debris would hit Earth’s atmosphere at a speed high enough to cause meteor showers.
Each year, there are about 30 meteor showers, which occur when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid, which can be seen with the naked eye.
Some meteor showers have been around for centuries. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs every year in August, was first observed about 2,000 years ago and recorded by Chinese astronomers, NASA said.
Meteor showers are usually named after the constellation that appears to be shining in the night sky, although Robert Lunsford, general secretary of the International Meteor Organization, said the Tau Hercules was incorrectly named.
In a blog written before Monday’s meteor shower, he said it would appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, northwest of the bright orange star known as Arcturus (alpha Bootis).
More meteor showers
There are many other opportunities to witness meteor showers this year.
Delta Aquariids are best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28 and 29, when the moon is 74% full.
Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night – Alpha Capricorn. Although this shower is much weaker, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible to everyone, no matter which side of the equator they are on.
It will peak between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere.
This is the meteor shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky meteor shower forecast.
- October 8: Draconids
- October 21: Orionids
- November 4-5: South Taurids
- November 11-12: North of Torres
- November 17: Leonids
- December 13-14: Gemini
- December 22: Ursids
“Web maven. Infuriatingly humble beer geek. Bacon fanatic. Typical creator. Music expert.”
More Stories
Scientists confirm that monkeys do not have time to write Shakespeare: ScienceAlert
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida (video and photos)
A new 3D map reveals strange, glowing filaments surrounding the supernova