Star Gazing Tips: How to Spot a Meteor Shower
Before we find out some tips on how you can spot a meteor shower, let’s find out what a meteor is and where they come from. A meteor is a small fragment of a meteoroid. A meteoroid, in turn, is a piece of an asteroid or a comet. A comet can be defined as a “celestial conglomeration that moves in a circular pattern around the sun.” Every time a comet orbits the sun, many fragments fall away from it. These fragments spread out and form a stream of meteoroids. When the orbit of the earth and the orbit of the comet run together, we can see the streams, or, meteor showers. What we actually see from earth are quick flashes of brilliant lights in the sky.
Although November usually gives us the best light shows, you can see these meteor showers anytime of the year. To spot a meteor shower, here’s an important tip: choose a clear, cloudless night. Watch the weather or check the Internet to find out what night the moon will be in its last crescent. This way, the moonlight won’t illuminate the sky that much, and you’ll be able to see more. To try and see a meteor shower in the early evening, wait until the sun has completely gone down. Actually, though, the ideal time to spot a meteor shower is in the darkness right before the sun rises.
Here are some additional tips for the best viewing: if you live in or near a city, you’ll need to travel to a rural location away from bright lights. The brilliant lights of a shower will show better against a dark sky. You’ll also need to find a spot of land that has a clear view of the night sky without trees, leaves, and other obstructions in the way. Take your sleeping bag with you so you can lie on the ground and be comfortable. Or, if the ground is wet or rocky, you can take a cot or a chaise lounge to lie on instead.
For early evening viewing, begin by watching the horizon. As the night gets later, meteor showers tend to be seen higher up in the sky.
Depending on the time of year you’re trying to spot this type of celestial happening, you may see some of the more popular meteor showers. For example, in the wintertime, the meteor shower that’s known as, “Leonids”, can be seen on the sixteenth and seventh of November. “Geminids” can be seen on the thirteenth and fourteenth of December. “Ursids” is another winter site. It appears on the twenty-first and twenty-second days of the month. There are many other named meteor showers you can spot during the rest of the seasons as well.
As you might have guessed by now, meteor showers are named by the constellations. The Geminid shower got its name because it’s at its brightest when its radiant is located in the Gemini constellation. Which leads us to our next tip: to find a meteor shower, locate a constellation in the night sky. You can use an astronomy book or a map if you need help finding the many constellations.
Some meteor showers are easier to see than others, so, you might want to look for the brightest ones because they are easier to spot. The Quadrantids, seen between January first and fifth;
the Eta-Aquarids, which are seen between April nineteenth and May twenty-eighth; the Perseids, seen between July seventeenth and August twenty-fourth, and the Leonids, seen between November fourteenth and the twenty-first, are some of the brightest meteor showers.
