As the Earth travels around in it’s orbit, it passes through the dusty tails of various comets that orbit the Sun. This is when we can see meteor showers. As comets get nearer the Sun in their orbits, the Sun’s radiation has an effect of vapourising gases from the comets nucleus creating a long tail. Some tails have been measured at over 150 million kilometres long. Comets are frozen balls of dust, ice, and rock, and meteors are the grains of dust in the comet’s tail that burn up as “shooting stars” as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. Meteor showers always come from the same general area of the sky, and are named after the constellations from where they appear from.
Quanrantids
Peak date January 4th/Hourly rate 40/Duration 2.2 days
Lyrids
Peak date April 21st/Hourly rate 15/Duration 4 days
Eta Aquarids
Peak date May 4th/Hourly rate 20/Duration 14 days
Delta Aquarids
Peak date July 28th/Hourly rate 20/Duration 6 days
Perseids
Peak date August 12th/Hourly rate 50/Duration 4.6 days
Orionids
Peak date October 21st/Hourly rate 25/Duration 4 days
South Taurids
Peak date November 3rd/Hourly rate 15/Duration unknown
Leonids
Peak date November 16th/Hourly rate 15/Duration unknown
Geminids
Peak date December 13th/Hourly rate 50/Duration 5.2 days
Ursids
Peak date December 22nd/Hourly rate 15/Duration 4 days