Why is there a meteor shower

Our planet is full of wonderful things, spectacular events of which we do not usually wonder where they came from. One of these elements is the meteor shower or meteor shower, an event that happens several times throughout the year. To know why this event occurs, today in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about why is there a rain of stars and that, thus, you know better the conformation of our universe.

The falling star shower or meteor shower is an event that occurs when an astronomical element, generally a comet, enters the interior of the Solar System and, when making contact with the wind coming from the Sun, the surface is activated. Gases and materials are released from the comet's surface, forming swarms of meteors, these being the meteor showers that reach Earth annually.

Meteors, upon reaching the earth's atmosphere, undergo ionization, which causes a luminous trace to appear from the meteor, creating what are known as starsfleeting. Everything is due to the ionization of the air that surrounds the meteor, that is to say, the formation of ions and it is what gives that luminosity to the wake of the meteor.

We could say that the origin of the meteor shower comes from comets which, as they lose matter, leave a trail behind. Therefore, they become small particles that, upon entering the atmosphere, burn up and form what we know as a Shooting Star.

Shooting stars characteristics

Shooting stars have very different aspects, some of the elements that differentiate one meteor from another are the following:

• Brightness: Depending on the ionization, it can be either very bright or dim shooting stars.
• Trajectory: They can have short or long trajectories.
• Wake: Although it is common for them to have a wake, some meteors do not have a trail behind them.
• Velocity: Most are fast, the kind that pass before you can make a wish, but there are also many slower ones that take seconds to pass.
• Colour: Some may have a distinctive color, such as red, green, or blue.

Some of the meteors can be much larger than the rest, being brighter than others, and receiving the denomination of fireballs. The bolides are very bright meteors, looking like a great ball of fire, making them even visible in broad daylight. Some cars even fragment, explode or make noise during their trajectory.

To continue with this lesson on why there is a meteor shower, we must talk about the main meteor showers that we can see from our planet.

There are a series of meteor showers yearly, which usually appear in a specific period of time, and whose regularity makes them very important. Some of the main Meteor Showers are as follows:

• Quadrantids: January 1-5 is one of the busiest Meteor Showers.
• Lyrid: April 16-25, are moderate meteor showers.
• Perseids: one of the best known meteor showers, being nicknamed as the tears of Saint Lawrence. its period of activity is from July 17 to August 24.
• Draconids: They receive their name from the constellation of the Dragon, since there is their main radiant. Their period is from October 6 to October 10.
• Orionids: These moderate meteor showers are characterized by a yellowish-green color. Their period is from October 2 to November 7.
• Leonidas: These red meteors happen between November 15 and 21.
• Geminids: These slow stars happen between December 7 and December 17.

Meteor showers can be in many different forms, the following factors being what make them one form or another. These factors are:

• Radiant: it is a point in the sky from which all the stars in a meteor shower seem to converge. An example is the already mentioned constellation of the Dragon, from where the Draconids converge.
• Zenital Hourly Rate: it is the maximum number of meteors that a person can see in a clear sky. It is calculated in meteors per hour, and serves to define the activity of a meteor shower.
• Population index: It is used to determine the differences in brightness between the different meteors in a swarm.