so is there another one today or are they wrong?
2007-08-13 07:31:10 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Meteor showers usually "peak" on one night (which means: that's the night when you can expect the most meteors per hour). However, you can often still see a lot if you watch a day or two before or after the "peak" night.
2007-08-13 07:36:08 · answer #1 · answered by RickB 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To understand how a meteor "shower" works, you should know that what's happening is the Earth is moving through a debris field, caused by an old comet that finally pooped out after orbing the sun for many hundreds of thousands of years.
Bits & pieces of the comet have broken off, and are in about the same orbit as the original comet; When Earth swings by, we plow through this field of orbiting debris, and it starts off as just a few particles, peaks in the middle, then slowly tapers off again, usually over 3 or 4 days.
2007-08-13 14:59:23 · answer #2 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As far as what I have read - Aug. 12th(technically the 13th) was the peak, but it is possible to see the meteorites up to 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the peak. We've been watching the sky since last Wed. the 8th at midnight and have seen some every night. Will go out again tonight.
2007-08-13 14:37:38 · answer #3 · answered by kwest654 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋