The upcoming months feature many minor to moderate meteor showers, but concludes with the Geminids, which features hundreds of multi-colored meteors every night.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by a comet. The debris is largely just grains of dust that burn brightly when entering the planet's atmosphere.
Here are the top five meteor showers to look for this fall:
1. Draconids: 5-10 meteors/hour
Peak night: Oct. 8-9
The first meteor shower of the season peaks during the first half of October, and while it isn't considered a major shower, it's a good one for early-night stargazers.
Most meteor showers are best viewed after midnight; however, the Draconids is one of the few meteor showers that is best during the evening. This is a good shower for younger stargazers, especially since the shower peaks on a school night.
This year will be an excellent year for viewing the Draconids as it peaks right before the new moon, meaning there will be minimal natural light pollution, allowing the dimmer meteors to be seen.
2. Orionids - 20 meteors/hour
Peak night: Oct. 21-22
The Orionid meteor shower is typically one of the best meteor showers of the season and is made up of debris from the famous Halley's Comet.
"In a normal year, the Orionids produce 20-25 shower members at maximum," the American Meteor Society (AMS) said.
The best opportunity to view the shower will be a small window between moonset, around 4 a.m. local time, and when the morning twilight begins.
3. Northern Taurids - 5 meteors/hour
Peak night: Nov. 11-12
Although the Northern Taurids meteor shower may be overlooked since it only brings around five meteors an hour, it can bring some spectacular fireballs that light up the entire sky.
People heading out to view the Taurids will need to bring some patience as there may be long gaps in between meteors, but this meteor shower is known for featuring a high number of fireballs. Fireballs are incredibly bright meteors that glow for several seconds.
The Northern Taurids also overlaps with another meteor shower, the Southern Taurids, which can bring a few extra shooting stars to the sky for onlookers.
4. Leonids - 10-20 meteors/hour
Peak night: Nov. 17-18
People spending some time outside the weekend before Thanksgiving should take a look at the night sky as the Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak.
The moon may hinder early-night observers, but dimmer meteors will become visible after 2 a.m. local time once the moon sets.
"This shower has turned into a raging meteor storm in the past. In fact, the Leonids have produced the most impressive shows in recorded history," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and astronomy blogger Dave Samuhel said.
However, a meteor storm is not expected this year. Meteor storms from the Leonids typically occur every 33 years, with the most recent being in 2001.
"[In 2001] I observed what seemed to be several meteors at once in the sky all night long, but the 2001 show pales in comparison to 1966 and 1833," Samuhel said.
5. Geminids - 120+ meteors/hour
Peak night: Dec. 13-14
Autumn draws to a close with one of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the entire year.
The Geminids boasts an impressive 120 meteors an hour, but can occasionally exceed this. In 2017, observers documented as many as 160 meteors an hour at its peak.
Not only are the Geminids known for its impressive numbers, but also the colors.
"The Geminids are often bright and intensely colored," the AMS said.
People planning to stay up late to view the year's most popular meteor shower may have to bundle up as chilly winter weather typically settles in across much of the United States by mid-December.
Enduring a cold night under the stars may be worth it for some observers as the Geminids will be one of the last meteor showers until late April.
Reader Comments
As Kavanaugh's mom would say - "What rings true"
A light reflecting off a sphere will be brightest at the point facing you - any other angle and the light will be reflected at an angle
The full moon appears to have equal luminosity across its whole area - i.e. the reflection characteristics of a flat mirror, not a convex one
Please
Little flatter got religion!
Huge asteroid, recently-discovered, to make close fly-by of Earth on October 3rd
A huge asteroid dubbed 2018 SP1 is hurtling towards Earth. The space rock is estimated to be about the size of the Statue of Liberty or larger. The giant space rock, discovered by NASA on...Keep truckin'
- A very large object such as a large mountain appears closer than it actually is. It might appear to be within grasp, but could requure a great journey to reach it's perimeter.
- I was under the impression the planets travelled around the Sun. The Sun travels?
The Sun's orbital speed around the Galaxy: ~200 km/s (720,000 km/h, 450,000 mph)
The Solar System is traveling at an average speed of 230 km/s (828,000 km/h) within its trajectory around the galactic center
It's all moving - extremely fast!
Do planets orbit the Sun, like on those school diagrams, or trailing behind in a spiral?
[Link] - worth viewing if you have not seen this before
The sun also "bobs" up and down the galactic plane - the wave length is about 64 Million Years with the bob being about 200 light years above or below the plane. The galactic disk is assumed to be about 1000 light years thick
You cannot fall off the edge of the galactic disk
The response makes this last point No indication of what sort of change in velocity would be expected - If the Sun slowed down, the planets would have to slow down too, or change positions (I assume the planets are meant to be moving at 200km/s to keep up with the Sun, whereas the 30km/s for Earth is the orbit speed and ignores that motion)
W ould you feel anything on Earth if it slowed from 200 km/s to 190 km/s ... or would Mr Gravity step in and ensure everything remains totally still (Except that feather floating in the air)
-Well, there's Sodom, and Gomorrah getting wiped out by a celestial event that mentioned "fire, and brimstone." Meteors contain sulfur.
[Link]
No proof of any previous civilization which could question technological evolution will ever be officially discovered
Other events which enhance the unique, god-chosen glory of the Israelis are permitted
I'm enjoying the comments here...likewise the article on the footage from the asteroid!
Eerie 'death comet' with a skull face will fly past Earth just after Halloween (but no worries, it will be 25 million miles away)
A 'death comet' will be zipping past earth just after Halloween this year. The asteroid with a skull-like face will make its second trip near earth in three years after flying a worrisome 302,000......So the best(only) explanation for that glaring anomaly is balloons!? Somebody in Montana one day says, "Hey, let's set off a balloon today, cause i just know some city slicker tourist is gonna get himself lost today."?? FE is flawed, because if you find one weak point, the whole thing comes tumbling down.