The American Meteor Society: What can we learn from a brighter meteor shower than the Geminids? A study of the southern Taurids
The NASA has been photographing fireballs that look to be much brighter than the moon, while the meteor society has already recorded an increase in fireballs.
“If you had to pin one (meteor shower) as being the best of the year, year in and year out, it would be the Geminids,” said Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator for the society. If the weather is great, you could usually see 30 to 40 meteors an hour.
The Taurids are the result of a breakup of a very large comet around 20,000 years ago. Among the debris was a comet called Encke, which is the smallest of any major comet in our solar system. Every passing of Earth leaves a trail of debris behind it. This trail includes the Southern Taurids, which are a cluster so large it takes our planet several weeks to pass through.
Mike Hankey, operations manager of the American Meteor Society said that it would be like a shooting star. “But instead of lasting a half of a second, it might last for three or four seconds, and instead of just being as bright as a star, it might be as bright as the moon — sometimes even brighter.”
Lunsford said that the best time to view a fireball is early in the morning. During the night, fireballs can be seen throughout the world and can be seen at any time during the night because of their size and brightness, but as the moon gets closer to its full moon stage, fainter meteors may be more difficult to see.
The showers reach their peaks where Earth is closest to the stream’s center. When Jupiter is close enough, it creates a swarm that causes debris to fall and create fireballs. The last time this happened was in 2015, and before then in 2008, creating a seven-year repetition that the meteor society predicted would happen again for 2022.
Mike Hankey, the American Meteor Society’s operations manager, said that it was an interesting shower that produced a lot of fireballs. “It’s always been known for fireballs, but we can definitely see an uptick in the data every day this month. There has been a lot of fireballs already.”
Lunsford said that you won’t always see fireballs, but there are meteors every night of the year. It is something that can be done cheaply. You don’t have to use a telescope because your eyes are perfect.
There are three more meteor showers in the year 2022, according to a guide from EarthSky. Here are the showers and their predicted peaks:
The moon’s Illumination has affected Geminids watching for the past two years, but the meteor shower is expected to occur around a new moon in 2023, creating perfect viewing conditions.
Even with the moon, Bill said it will still be a good shower. Look away from the moon at the sky if you can locate something that will block it.
The Radiant of the Geminid Streams at the Dawn of the Fourth Millennium: Fireworks from Nature’s Fireworks? An Astronomical Perspective
Some models suggest that the shower will increase in intensity and others expect a gradual decline over the next few decades, but it is not clear how the group will change in the foreseeable future.
The Geminids are unique in that their source is the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, while most other meteor showers are born out of debris from icy comets. That’s why Geminids streams can be unpredictable — because it is more difficult to model asteroid breakups, Cooke said.
It is possible to see the radiant when it is at its zenith between 1 and 2 in the morning or during the evening, Lunsford said. “The rates will probably be fairly similar at those times, too.”
If you see a meteorite burning up in the sky, it is a sign that something has been out in space for a very long time. By studying it, we can find out what makes those comets. The display is a nice firework and meteorite showers are nature’s fireworks.