What is a meteor shower?

In the solar system, besides the nine planets and their satellites, there are comets, asteroids and some smaller celestial bodies. Although small in size, small celestial bodies revolve around the sun like the nine planets. If they have a chance to pass near the earth, they may break into the earth's atmosphere at a speed of tens of kilometers per second. Due to the intense friction with the earth's atmosphere, huge kinetic energy is converted into heat energy, which ionizes the matter and gives off dazzling light. This is the meteor that we often see.

Meteor shower is a group of meteors, which looks like a special celestial phenomenon that appears and falls in the night sky. This point or a small sky area is called the radiation point of meteor shower. In order to distinguish meteor showers in different directions, meteor showers are usually named after the constellations in the sky where the radiant points of meteor showers are located. For example, every year165438+1October 17 or so, the radiant point of the meteor shower is in Leo, so it is named Leonid meteor shower. Other popular meteor showers include Aquarius meteor shower, Orion meteor shower and Perseid meteor shower.

Some meteors are single, the direction and time are random, and there are no radiation points at all. This kind of meteor is called accidental meteor. Meteor showers are essentially different from occasional meteors. An important feature of meteor shower is that the reverse extension lines of all meteors intersect at the radiation point.

The scale of meteor showers varies greatly. Sometimes only a few meteors appear in an hour, but they all seem to "flow out" from the same radiation point, so they also belong to the category of meteor showers; Sometimes in a very short time, thousands of meteors can be seen at the same radiation point, just like fireworks in festivals. When the number of meteors per hour exceeds 1000, it is called "star rain".

There are seven famous meteor showers:

1. Leonid meteor shower

Leonid meteor shower occurs every year from 165438+ 10/4 to 2 1. Generally speaking, the number of meteors is about 10 to 15 per hour, but the Leonid meteor shower has a peak every 33 to 34 years, and the number of meteors can exceed several thousand per hour. This phenomenon is related to the period of Comet templeton Tuttle. When a meteor shower occurs, it seems that the meteor will shoot from a specific point in the sky, which is called the "radiant point", named after the radiant point of the Leonid meteor shower is located in Leo.

2. Gemini meteor shower

Gemini meteor shower appears from June 13 to June 14 every year, and the maximum hourly flow can reach 120, and the maximum flow duration is long. Gemini meteor shower originated from 1983 TB asteroid and was discovered by IRAS satellite in 1983. Scientists judged that this may be the remains of a "burned" comet. Gemini meteor shower radiation point is located in Gemini, which is a famous meteor shower.

3.perseid meteor shower

Perseid meteor shower occurs regularly from July 17 to August 24 every year. It is not only rich, but also almost never misses the starry sky in summer. It is the most suitable meteor shower for non-professional meteor observers, ranking first among the three periodic meteor showers in the whole year. Comet Swift-Tuttle is the mother of Perseid meteor shower. 1992 around the perihelion of the comet, the Perseid meteor shower shone brilliantly, and the number of meteors reached more than 400 per hour.

4. Orion meteor shower

There are two kinds of Orion meteor showers, and the meteor shower with radiation point near Betelgeuse usually appears around165438+1October 20th. The meteor shower with radiation point near ν occurred from June 65438+1October 15 to June 65438+1October 30, and the maximum day was June 65438+1October 2 1 day. We often say that the Orion meteor shower is the latter, which is caused by the famous Halley's comet. Halley's comet will return to the core of the solar system every 76 years, scattering debris in the orbit of the comet.

5. Taurus meteor shower

The Taurus meteor shower occurs from June 25th 10 to June 25th118+065438. Debris in the orbit of comet Enke formed a meteor shower. On the biggest day, five meteors can be observed flying by every hour. Although the flow is small, it is also because of its stable period.

6. Dragon Meteor

The Draco meteor shower occurs every year from June 6th to June 6th of 10, and the maximum day is June 8th of 10. This meteor shower is one of the three periodic meteor showers in the whole year, with the maximum hourly discharge of 120, and the maximum day is generally close to the new moon, which is less affected by moonlight and provides good observation conditions for observers. Comet Giacobini-Sinner is the origin of the Draco meteor shower.

7.lyra meteor shower

Lyra meteor shower usually appears from April 19 to 23rd every year, and 22nd is usually the maximum day. This meteor shower is the earliest recorded meteor shower in China, and its outbreak in 687 BC is vividly recorded in the ancient book Spring and Autumn Annals. The orbital debris of comet 186 1 I formed the Lyra meteor shower, which, as one of the three periodic meteor showers in the whole year, also occupies an extremely important position in astronomy.

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2005/ 10/02 China public can enjoy four astronomical phenomena.

meteor shower

Perseid meteor shower streaked across the sky.

The Astronomical Society of Jiangsu Province informed the reporter that in June+10, 5438, the public could watch four celestial phenomena, including the annular eclipse, the Draco meteor shower, the partial eclipse of the moon and the approach of Mars to the earth.

10 The annular solar eclipse on June 3rd is a spectacular astronomical phenomenon all year round. The annular eclipse begins in the northern Atlantic Ocean, passes through Portugal, Spain and the Mediterranean Sea in southwest Europe, passes through northeast Africa and ends in the Indian Ocean. Partial solar eclipse can be seen in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia, while in China, it can only be seen in a small part of southwest Tibet. The public who can't see the annular eclipse with their own eyes can watch the live webcast.

The Draco meteor shower on October 9th, 65438/KLOC-0 is a rare astronomical phenomenon. The Draco meteor shower can be observed all over the northern hemisphere, including China, and the best observation time is 65438 10: 00 on October 9.

There will be a partial solar eclipse in June 65438+1October 65438+July. Since the total lunar eclipse in May 2004, there has been no total lunar eclipse in recent years. The partial eclipse on June 65438+1October 65438+1October 7 can be seen by the public with naked eyes in all parts of China.

10 year1on October 30th, Mars approached the earth again. That night, the brightness of Mars was -2.3, which was clearly visible to the naked eye. This is a good opportunity for amateur astronomers to observe Mars.