meteor showers

Meteor showers are a very special celestial treat to the human eye and mind, giving them the perception of something unusual and mighty out there. From various Hollywood movies to great stories of the past, meteor showers have always been a part of human evolution and history indicates that meteor showers have fascinated many civilisations to look up in the sky and explore the cosmos with growing interest and passion. Today we are blessed with some very prominent meteor showers and we are hopeful of the stellar show will be marvellous for you all.

To make it even more interesting, we have picked up amazing locations for you all and we will be ready with our experts to give you a memorable experience of the lifetime.

Meteor Showers are generally associated with an asteroid or comet which has passed through the Earth’s orbit in the past. Each year as the Earth moves around the Sun in its orbit, the Earth encounters the dust particles left over by the minor body. This interaction, pulls the dust particles towards the Earth due to its gravitational pull. As the particles come close to Earth and enter its atmosphere, they start to burn due to heat and friction. This burning is observed by the ground based observers who see the streak of light.

The space around Earth is full of dust however its density is higher near the dust tail left over by the comet or asteroid. So we observe some meteors every night however when the Earth passes through the tail of dust, the intensity increases and hence the shower reaches its peak. The meteors are generally observed to be moving in a speed of around 100,000 KM/H or more. While 99% of the particles are burned in upper atmosphere, hardly 0.001% reaches the earth as big as the size of golf ball. The burning of the debris releases the colour flash which, after carefully studying can reveal the constituents of the meteor. There is an international body which conducts the study about these meteors which help predict the activity in the future more accurately.

Orionids Meteor Shower is an exciting meteor shower for astrophotographers mainly due to the fact that the astronomers have just started shooting Orion Nebula and some lucky shots have meteor captured in it.

Leonids Meteor Shower is an exception shower mainly because it have never been a disappointment for the users. Unfortunately this year it will coincide with Diwali celebrations in India.

Gemenides Meteor Shower is an “NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT” mainly due to the high chances of fireballs one can see during the shower. Also it is one of the rare showers which is visible in the evening. 

All the above meteor showers are coinciding with either New Moon or within First Quarter Moon making it easier to spot the meteors from dark location.

Nearly 70% of the meteors are disappeared from the city light pollution. From a dark location, only 15-20% meteors are left un-detected. Cameras can detect the meteors easily.

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