Watch meteors like a pro in 2007!
"Leonid Sunrise" © Wally Pacholka, AstroPics.com.
Here’s the first thing – the main thing – you need to know to become as proficient as the experts at watching meteors. That is, to watch meteors, you need a dark sky.
You also need to be looking at the right time. Meteor showers occur over a range of dates, as Earth moves through space, crossing “meteor streams.” These streams of icy particles in space come from comets moving in orbit around the sun. Comets are fragile icy bodies that litter their orbits with debris. When this cometary debris enters our atmosphere, it vaporizes due to friction with the air. If moonlight or city lights don’t obscure the view, we on Earth see the falling, vaporizing particles as meteors.
Although astronomers have tried to publish exact predictions in recent years, meteor showers remain notoriously unpredictable. Your best bet is to go outside at the times we suggest, and plan to spend at least an hour reclining comfortably while looking up at the sky.
The list below is Earth & Sky’s best attempt to get you outside (in a dark place, don’t forget) at the right time to see a meteor shower.
Janurary 3, 2007 Quadrantids
In 2007, the full moon is a problem for this shower, which is known for being fast and furious. The shower has a sharp peak, and typically all worthwhile observing must be done no more than an hour or two either side of the peak. Face the general direction of northwest, beginning at about 6 p.m. Eastern Time on January 3. Remember that the meteors can be seen across a wide swath of sky.
April 22 or 23, 2007 Lyrids
The Lyrids are a moderate shower at best, but the meteors tend to be bright and often leave trails. About 10-20 meteors per hour at peak can be expected. Uncommon surges can sometimes bring the rate to 100 per hour. The radiant is in the constellation Lyra, which rises in the northeast at about 10 p.m. Unfortunately the moon – approaching first quarter – will be up for another couple of hours after the radiant rises this year. It’s best to watch when the moon is out of the sky. Try the hours between midnight and dawn on either April 22 or 23.
May 4,5, or 6 2007 Eta Aquarids
The radiant for this shower is fairly low to the east-southeast at about 4 a.m. Unfortunately, this year, a waning gibbous moon will be up as well at that time, and it’ll detract from this year’s shower. For the northern hemisphere, the rates for this shower are only about 10 per hour at maximum. Although low in number, a broad peak to this shower means that some meteors may be seen on the day before and after. The shower will be mostly drowned in bright moonlight. But the broad peak might mean you’ll see some meteors, even in moonlight, especially in the hours between midnight and dawn on May 4, 5, and 6.
July 27 or 28, 2007 South Delta Aquarids
Like most meteor showers, the best observing for this shower is before dawn. Unlike most meteor showers, this one doesn’t have a very definite peak. Instead, it rambles along steadily in late July and early August. The July full moon comes on the 29th. So in late July, the moon will be filling the sky with its light. That’s bad news for the Delta Aquarids. This shower will be mostly drowned in bright moonlight this year, although you might see some meteors in the light of the moon in late July. But that same late July full moon is good news for this year’s August Perseid shower.
August 11, 12 or 13, 2007 Perseids
While these typically fast and bright meteors radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus, they cover a large part of the sky, so try to observe as wide an area as possible around the radiant. The Perseids are considered by many people to be the year’s best shower when the moon is out of the way, as it is this year. New moon comes on August 12, leaving the skies dark for watching meteors. Look low to the northeast beginning at about 10 p.m. on the 12th. The radiant is well up in the northeast at the midnight peak, but highest overhead just before dawn on the 13th. Make a night of it!
October 8 or 9, 2007 Draconids
The radiant point of the Draconid meteor shower pretty much coincides with the head of the constellation Draco the Dragon. This shower is definitely a sleeper. Most years, it produces only a handful of languid meteors per hour. But watch out if the dragon awakes! On occasion, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth hundreds – if not thousands – of meteors in a single hour. Since little or no moon will be around to ruin the show this year, this hard-to-predict shower is worth checking out. At nightfall on October 8 or 9, look northward. Continue to look northward throughout the night. This shower is a real oddity, in the respect that its radiant point is highest in the sky as darkness falls. Best viewed from the northern hemisphere.
October 20, 21 or 22, 2007 Orionids
These meteors tend to be fast, occasionally leaving persistent trains and producing bright fireballs. If you trace these meteors backwards, they seem to originate from the north of Orion’s bright ruddy star Betelgeuse. Even though a bright waxing gibbous moon will disrupt the show until after midnight, the Orionids customarily save their best for the predawn hours before sunrise. The Orionids have a broad and irregular peak that is difficult to predict. This year, October 20 is a Saturday, which is one reason we’ve included that date, even though the 21st and 22nd might produce more meteors. Try looking in the predawn hours on October 20, 21 or 22. At that time the pesky moon will have set. A likely maximum of 15 meteors per hour.
November 5 or 6, 2007 South Taurids
The South (and North) Taurids are perhaps best suited to diehard meteor enthusiasts. The meteoroid stream that feeds the Taurids is very spread out and dissipated. That means the South Taurids are extremely long lasting (September 17 – November 27), but usually don’t offer a whole lot more than a sprinkling of meteors. At nightfall in the first week of November, look eastward for some meteors. If you catch some, that’s a good sign. Expect the greatest number of meteors to fall around one or two in the morning, when the radiant point of the shower is high overhead. The forecast is for about 7 meteors per hour.
November 11, 12 or 13, 2007 North Taurids
Like the South Taurids, this shower is long lasting (October 12 – December 2) but modest, and the peak number is forecast at 7 as well. Because the South and North Taurids overlap, there’s some chance of catching a few extra meteors per hour. Look for maximum numbers on November 11, 12 or 13 at around 1 a.m., when Taurus the Bull rides high in the sky.
November 17 or 18, 2007 Leonids
Historically, the Leonids have produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history, with rates as high as many thousands of meteors per hour. These storms often recur in cycles of 33 years. But this year, we anticipate more of a whimper than a growl from Leo the Lion, with a maximum of perhaps 10-15 meteors per hour. Like the October Orionids, the Leonids produce swift-moving meteors, and tend to put out the greatest numbers just before dawn. Don’t expect the Leonids to pick up steam till after midnight – or at about the time the moon starts to set. Try the predawn hours on November 17 or 18.
December 13 or 14, 2007 Geminids
This is the year’s grand finale! As a general rule, it’s either the Geminids or the August Perseids that give us the most prolific meteor display of the year. As soon as darkness falls, look eastward for the first Geminid meteors to shoot across the sky. (Don’t know which way is east? Simply look in the direction opposite of the waxing crescent moon.) After the moon sets on the evenings of December 13 or 14, and as night deepens, watch for the Geminids to intensify and to climax at about 2 in the morning. With maximums commonly reaching 50 meteors per hour, this is a glorious time of year to sprawl out on your reclining lawn chair and to take in the show. Just be sure to bring along warm clothing, blankets or sleeping bags, and a thermos with a warm beverage.
Peak times are derived from data published in the Observer’s Handbook 2007 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Thanks for this informative article. Is there one similar for viewing the Northern Lights? Or are they even more unpredictable?
Hi, George and thanks for your comment. There will be more on the meteor showers for the rest of the year coming up a bit later on. I suspect that we may be doing more articles like this, but we’ll like have more to say about that later, as well.
Regarding the Northern Lights, I have to tell you that your suspicion is correct, and that they are difficult to predict very far in advance. However, another reader asked the same thing recently. I have written a short Tonight’s Sky piece that is scheduled, as I recall, for Jan. 28. Please check that out.
However, there are at least a couple of guidelines for determining when the aurora are more likely. As it turns out, the geometry of earth’s orbit makes them slightly more likely in Spring and Fall, than Summer or Winter. And of course there is the roughly 11-year solar cycle during which the numbers of sunspots and of auroral sightings waxes and wanes. Unfortunately we are just past the bottom of the cycle now, and it won’t peak again for several more years. Although the aurora can happen at any time, my guess for the next best times are the spring or fall of 2010 or 2011. In the meantime, keep an eye on Earth & Sky. You might also want to check out Spaceweather.com ; the Space Environment Center’s Auroral Activity page: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/pmap/ ; and my own page, North American Skies: http://home.comcast.net/~sternmann/index.htm.
But above all, keep coming back to Earth & Sky and letting us know what you like, what you don’t like, and what you would like to see in the future!
Larry Sessions
George, if you like this meteor article, you might also enjoy Earth & Sky’s top 10 tips for super stargazers.
Happy gazing!
Deborah
thanks for the article its graet!
Thanks, JD. More is on the way!
Larry Sessions
Thanks for the meteor watch list. Question; Is there a way to determine where exactly or approximately on earth meteorites will fall?
Hi, Aamir. Unfortunately, there is no way to determine where meteorites might land on Earth, or for that matter even whether a given meteor (which is what you call the flash of light) will even reach the ground (after which the object is called a “meteorite”). On the other hand, we can sometimes locate meteorites if several observers were able to see it and provide enough directional information. Then using relatively simple mathematical techniques (“triangulation”), it is sometimes possible to define a rough area in which to look. However, that’s usually a pretty big area, at least several miles in diameter. IF the object fell on the right terrain (a large dry lake bed, for example), it is easier to look. Meteorites have been found this way, and there are groups whose members activity work on reports to find meteorites. There is one here in Colorado where I am, coordinated by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. You can read a little about it here:
http://www.cloudbait.com/science/fireballs.html
If you have seen a large bright meteor and want to help if there is a possibility of finding it, I suggest that you fill out the form here:
http://www.imo.net/fireball/report
Clear skies to you.
Larry Sessions
Denver
fantastic information. i love to make an event out of the meteor shower in aug. and nov. which normally produce better shows, but even if its overcast its still always been fun.one year we drove out and after spreading out blankets we had subs and coke and we all talked for days about it.
Hi, Sam. Glad you enjoyed it. I often hesitate to do too much with meteor showers because the media sometimes hypes things up way beyond what they really are. Here in Denver a couple of days ago there was a large bright fireball meteor that had nothing to do with the Lyrids, but the media hyped it up all over the place and told people that it was part of the meteor shower when it wasn’t. They got people excited and expected that the meteor shower would be big and bright like that. It turned out cloudy. Anyway, anything that gets you out enjoying the outdoors is good.
i know what you mean by media hype.today the news reported to show 3d views of the sun and the reporter actually said (views of the brightest star in the universe) he was talking about the sun. what made it worse was that i was watching it with a friend and when i told her why i was laughing she looked confused then i asked her if she knew what the brightest star in our solar system was and she said (in a hesitant manner) saturn. i tried not to be mean or laugh as i told her our local star was the sun. she said most people dont worry about things like that. so then i asked her about global warming, brittany spears and that baby in the bahamas, but i have gotten off subject. all media attention to the night sky is good attention. i believe we pay too much mind to earthly worry and not enough to the wonder that dwarfs us and our petty thoughts…........ mine included.