Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ATLANTA — Some lucky night sky watchers caught a glimpse of a brand new meteor shower on Monday night, as Earth passed through the debris trail of a crumbling comet.
The meteor shower peaked around 11 p.m. MT, with 10 to 25 meteors an hour spotted falling through the night sky, according to EarthSky.com, which described the meteor shower as "decent."
New meteor showers like this one are relatively rare. NASA had described the meteor shower as "an all or nothing event."
The comet, officially known as 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, or SW3, was discovered in 1930 by German observers Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachman. It wasn't spotted again until the late 1970s, and in the 1990s the comet shattered into several pieces, NASA said.
By the time SW3 passed Earth again in 2006, it was in nearly 70 pieces, and has continued to fragment further since then, the statement said. It was unclear whether the debris would strike Earth's atmosphere at a high enough velocity to cause a meteor shower.
Each year, there are around 30 meteor showers, which occur when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid, that are visible with the naked eye.
Some meteor showers have been around for centuries. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs each year in August, was first observed about 2,000 years ago and recorded by Chinese astronomers, NASA said.
Meteor showers are typically named after the constellation from where they appear to radiate in the night sky, although Robert Lunsford, secretary-general of the International Meteor Organization, said that the Tau Herculids had been incorrectly named.
In a blog written before Monday's meteor shower, he said that they will appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, northwest of the brilliant orange star known as Arcturus (alpha Bootis).
More meteor showers
There are several other opportunities to witness meteor showers this year.
The Delta Aquariids are best seen from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28 and 29, when the moon is 74% full.
Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night — the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible for everyone, regardless of which side of the equator they are on.
The Perseid meteor shower, the most popular of the year, will peak between Aug. 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere.
Here is the meteor shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky's meteor shower outlook.
- Oct. 8: Draconids
- Oct. 21: Orionids
- Nov. 4 to 5: South Taurids
- Nov. 11 to 12: North Taurids
- Nov. 17: Leonids
- Dec. 13 to 14: Geminids
- Dec. 22: Ursids
