2007 Meteor Showers

Typically, 40 or so bright, blue and fast (25.5 miles per second) meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, some blazing more than halfway across the sky. A small percentage of them leave persistent dust trains. This shower usually has a very sharp peak, usually lasting only about an hour.

Quadrantids and other Meteor Showers in 2012

The swift and bright Lyrid meteors disintegrate after hitting our atmosphere at a moderate speed of 29.8 miles per second. They often produce luminous trains of dust that can be observed for several seconds.

The June Lyrids is a low-rate shower during which you could see up to 10 meteors per hour during its peak.

At peak time about 20 bright, yellow meteors can be observed per hour. Because these meteors nearly broadside the Earth, their speed is a moderate 25.5 miles per second.

The Capricornids are characterized by their often yellow coloration and their frequent brightness. They are also slow interplanetary interlopers, hitting our atmosphere at around 15 miles per second. Though you can expect only 15 meteors per hour at best under dark sky conditions, the Capricornids are noted for producing brilliant fireballs.

This shower produces about 60 meteors per hour, and its performance is farily consistant from year to year.

Expect a peak rate of 10 yellow meteors per hour under clear, moonless conditions. These are fairly slow meteors, coming in at 12.5 miles per second. They radiate from the head of the constellation Draco. This shower was once known as the Giacobinids.

This shower produces a peak rate of 20 yellow and green meteors per hour, which are fast moving at 41.6 miles per second and are known to produce fireballs. They radiate from a point in the sky not far from Orion’s red giant star Betelgeuse.

This shower is actually two streams, the North Taurids and the South Taurids. It produces about 5-10 bright yellow meteors per hour. They enter our atmosphere at 17 miles per hour and often fragment into multiple meteors. Taurid meteors radiate form the sky not far from the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus.

The Leonids are best known for their 33-year peaks, during which 100s of meteors per hour can be observed. The last of these peaks occurred in 2001. Normal peak rates are 15-20 fast meteors (44 miles per second) . Mostly blue or green in color., with many leaving persistent dust trains behind them upon disintegrating.

The most reliable meteor shower of the year, the Geminids are characterized by their multi-colored display--65% being white, 26% yellow, and the remaining 9% blue, red and green. They come in at a moderate speed of 21.75 miles per second, therefore they are bright and often produce fireballs. They radiate point is near Gemini’s bright twins, Castor and Pollux.

Read more about the 2011 Geminids.