3 iconic meteor showers that we get to see every year
“Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky,” These lines from the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star refer to the star(s). But come to think of it, there are millions of celestial bodies hidden in the sky. Some we know about, others, not so much. Out of the ones we know, there are comets, asteroids and of course meteors.
There’s good news for all you sky gazers out there. Turns out, the annual meteor shower that appears every December called Geminids, is scheduled to appear today! One of the best and most reliable meteor showers, Geminids derives its name from the famous constellation Gemini, from which it radiates. As per NASA, the meteor shower, that was discovered in the early 19th century (one of the youngest), is supposed to travel at a speed of 35 kilometres per second and will be visible in the night sky, worldwide (Northern Hemisphere) on 14th and 15th December. All one needs to do is look for a yellowish semi-circular bright spot up above! As many as 120 Geminids are presumed to appear per hour. How exciting is that!
Ahead of the Geminids brightening up our tonight, let us look back at three of the most iconic meteor showers.
Perseids
Perseids is a prominent meteor shower that occurs every year in between 17th July and 24th August primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. It usually reaches its peak on 12th August and travels at a whooping speed of 58 kilometres per second. As many as 100 Perseids appear every hour. It derives its name from the Perseus constellation, although it radiates out of the Swift-Tuttle comet. It was first recorded in the year 36 AD. This year, the Perseids coincided with the full moon on its peak date and had a radiant appearance. In fact, it was visible above the horizon in a circumpolar (at an angle of 67 degrees) manner all through the night but was in its brightest around 7pm.
Leonids
Perhaps the most famous meteor shower, Leonids in sickle shapes, appear every November and reaches its peak on 17th of the month. With the highest velocity (71 kilometres per second) among all its cousins, Leonids is special as it is the only meteor shower that leads to spectacular meteor storms once every 33 years. During these storms, over 1000 meteors can be observed per hour. As you may have already guessed, Leonids derives its name from the Leo constellation and is associated with the Tempel-Tuttle comet. It was first recorded in 902 AD. Interestingly, unlike other popular meteors, Leonids’ hourly rate ranges between 15 to 300. In fact, this year, after centuries, as many as 278 meteors were observed near South Africa during its peak hour. Other notable Leonids happened in 1966, 1999 and 2001. There’s a prediction that the one in 2035 will be huge, considering it’s the year for the next meteor storm.
Lyrids
One of the rare summer meteor showers, Lyrids is also called April Lyrids as it appears in the month of April, reaching its peak on the 22nd. It resides near the constellation Lyra from which it has earned its name and is associated with the Comet Thatcher. Usually, Lyrids is bright and accompanies the first vernal showers of the year. They usually appear 18 per hour with an average velocity of 48 kilometres per second. It was first observed in 687 BC making it one of the earliest recorded meteor showers. This year, a rare phenomenon known as “Lyrid fireballs” was noticed, when Lyrids in its brightest form cast shadow on the Earth for less than a second, leaving behind miniscule smoky debris in the process.