Skywatchers spotted a brand new meteor shower on Monday as Earth passed through the debris trail of a crumbling comet. (NASA)
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ATLANTA — Some lucky night sky watchers spotted a brand new meteor shower 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 per hour spotted falling in the night sky, according to EarthSky.com, which described the meteor shower as “decent”.
New meteor showers like this 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 until the late 1970s, and in the 1990s the comet broke 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 ever since, according to the release. It was unclear if the debris would hit Earth’s atmosphere at a high enough speed to cause a meteor shower.
Each year, there are about 30 meteor showers, which occur when Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid, visible to the naked eye.
Some meteor showers have been around for centuries. For example, the Perseid meteor shower, which occurs every August, was first observed about 2,000 years ago and recorded by Chinese astronomers, NASA said.
Meteor showers are usually named after the constellation from which they appear to radiate into the night sky, although Robert Lunsford, secretary general of the International Meteor Organization, said the Tau Herculids were misnamed.
In a blog written ahead of Monday’s meteor shower, he said they would appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, northwest of the bright 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 visible from the southern tropics and will peak between July 28-29, when the moon is 74% full.
Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks the same night – the Alpha Capricornids. Although a much weaker downpour, it has been known to produce bright fireballs during its peak. It will be visible to everyone, regardless of which side of the equator they are on.
The most popular Perseid meteor shower of the year will peak between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere.
Here’s the meteor shower schedule for the rest of the year, according to EarthSky’s meteor shower outlook.
- October 8: Draconids
- October 21: Orionids
- November 4-5: Southern Taurids
- November 11 to 12: Northern Taurids
- November 17: Leonids
- December 13 to 14: Geminids
- December 22: Ursids