This article will reveal the less-known facts about meteor showers. Here are the interesting information about meteor showers.
Facts 1 : General Information about Meteor Showers
Meteor showers are a celestial event that happened in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Interestingly, the majority of meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, hence almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the earth’s surface.
Facts 2 : Historical Developments
Leonids is the first great meteor storm in the modern era, it was happened in 1833. After spending the last weeks of 1833 collecting information, scientist presented the findings in January 1834 to the American Journal of Science and Arts, published in January-April 1834, and January 1836.
The actual nature of meteors was still debated during the 19th century. In 1981, Donald K. Yeomans of the Jet Propulsion Labolatory reviewed the history of the dynamic orbit of Comet Temple-tutle.
Meteor showers
Facts 3 : Radiant Point
The radiant point appeared because of the effect of perspective, similar to parallel railroad tracks converging at a single vanishing point on the horizon when viewed from the middle of the tracks.
Facts 4 : Naming
Meteor showers are named after the nearest constellation or bright star with a Greek or Roman letter assigned that is close to the radiant position at the peak of the shower, whereby the grammatical declension of the Latin possessive form is replaced by”id” or “ids”.
Facts 5 : Origin of Meteoroid Streams
An interaction between a planet such as earth, and streams of debris from a comet can make a meteor shower.
Facts 6 : Dynamical Evolution of Meteoroid Streams
After scientist predicted that dust particles travelled at low speeds relative to the comet, Milos Plavec was the first to offer the idea of a dust trail, when he calculated how meteoroids, once freed from the comet, would drift mostly in front of or behind the comet after completing one orbit.
The gravitational pull of the planets determines where the dust trail would pass by earth orbit. Most years, those trails would miss the earth altogether, but in some years the Earth is showered by meteors.
Meteor showers
Facts 7 : Perseids
Perseid is the most visible meteor shower in most years, that peak on 12 August of each year at over one meteor per minute.
Facts 8 : Leonids
The Leonid meteor shower peaks around 17 November of each year. Approximately every 33 years, the Leonid shower produces a meteor storm, peaking as rates of thousand of meteors per hour.
Facts 9 : Established Meteor Showers
The established meteor showers are including, quadrantids, lyrics, Pi Puppids, Eta Aquariids, Arietids, Beta Taurids, June Bootids, Perseids, etc.
Facts 10 : Other Established Meteor Showers
Other established meteor such as Northern Taurids, Andromedids, Alpha Monocerotids, etc.
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