With the night sky shows scheduled for the next couple of weeks, I thought it would be a good time to revisit meteor showers and the elements that combine to create their brilliant displays.
Most people know you can see the occasional meteor streaking across the sky on any given night. Many might call it a shooting star, though any amateur astronomer worth their salt will wince at the misnomer.
A meteor is actually a tiny bit of grit or sand burning through Earth’s atmosphere, and has nothing to do with the stars. The light comes not from the disintegration of the meteor itself, but from how it super-heats the air molecules as it passes by. The bigger and faster that particle is traveling (they typically range from 20-45 miles per hour), the brighter the streak.
If you’re really lucky, you may see a fireball, which is a larger piece that lights up the whole area around you, or a bolide, which breaks apart into fragments as it travels. Don’t worry about these rocks falling on your head, though — meteors very rarely make it all the way through Earth’s atmosphere. Remember, most of the meteors you’re seeing are no larger than a grain of sand, and the brightest are probably only the size of a pea.
A meteor shower occurs on a yearly basis when the Earth passes through the same area of space it did in the past year, and comes into contact with a bunch of tiny particles that hang out in that area of space, often left behind by a comet or asteroid.
The Delta Aquarids meteor shower will be at its peak Sunday night and Monday morning, producing about 20 meteors per hour with a waning crescent moon that shouldn’t give you too much viewing trouble. These bits of dust were left behind by two comets, Kracht and Marsden. You’ll want to focus your viewing on the constellation of Aquarius to see the most meteors (hence the name of the shower), but they can come from anywhere in the sky.
If you’ve got other plans this weekend, never fear; the Perseids meteor shower is only a few weeks away, peaking on the evening of August 12 and morning of August 13, and known for its bright and numerous meteors. However, the moon will be nearly full this year, which will block out many of the dimmer meteors. But with an average of 60 a night, you will likely still get a decent show. This shower is caused by the Swift-Tuttle comet, and again as you can tell by the naming, you should be looking toward the constellation of Pegasus for the most meteors.
The best way to see the show is to get away from city lights and roads where headlights may cross your path and ruin your night vision. This is key if you’re serious about viewing the showers and are willing to drive a bit for a first-rate perspective. Websites like Dark Sky Finder can help to reveal and rate the light pollution in your area to give you an idea of the better spots to watch from. Best viewing is after midnight. Enjoy!
LOOKING UP THIS WEEK: Saturn and Jupiter will be up most of the night and into the dawn, moving across the sky. Mars still graces the evening sky in the west, with a dim Mercury very close by. The moon is currently a waning crescent and will be new on Wednesday.
Marisa Stoller can be reached at email@example.com or on Twitter @MarisaStoller.