Nature’s Fireworks

by Billie Castle

Also known as shooting stars or meteor storms, meteor showers are like nature’s fireworks. Their natural beauty lights up the sky one or hundreds at a time, and they put on a brilliant display that is always fun to watch.

Meteors come from the debris of comets and other objects in our solar system like asteroids. When the Earth collides with the debris that is strewn along the comet’s orbit, the debris becomes a meteor shower.

During a meteor shower the meteors appear to radiate from a certain constellation in the sky. Astronomers name the shower for the constellation from which that shower’s meteors appear to radiate. For example, one shower appears to radiate from Leo’s head. Thus, they are called the Leonids.

There are three main showers left this year to watch. The first one coming up is the Orionid meteor shower. This shower will peak in late October around the 21^st at an estimated rate of 25 meteors per hour. The parent or source of the Orionid shower is Comet Halley. The ideal time to view this shower will be from 2 – 4 A.M. Look in the eastern sky. The Moon will have already set, so you should not have any visibility issues as far as that is concerned.

Another main meteor shower coming up is the Leonids. They peak on November the 18^th with upwards of 15 meteors visible per hour. The Leonids’ parent is Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Look toward the eastern sky to view this shower between 2 – 4 in the morning. The Moon will not hinder the viewing of this shower either.

The last main meteor event to see in 2007 is the Geminid shower. They will peak around 12 – 2 in the morning of the 14^th of December at a predicted rate of 120 meteors per hour. The parent of this shower is asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The Geminids will be in the sky a little earlier than the other showers. Start observing at about 11 P.M. in the southeast. The Moon’s bright light will not interfere with observing the Geminids. Remember to bring lawn chairs, snacks, and maybe even a blanket to wrap up, and enjoy nature’s fireworks on display.

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