TEACHER
RESOURCE
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY & TIES ON...
TIVI
FACTS, RESOURCES AND AC
SHOWERSORS
OF METE
a pea. Sky glow
e from a grain of sand to
Most meteors range in siz
any but the
ies makes it difficult to see
cit
in
ion
llut
po
ht
lig
m
fro
brighter meteors.
few seconds
in all directions for just a
sky
the
oss
acr
sh
fla
rs
Meteo
t sometimes for a
rn to their trajectory. Bu
at most. There’s no patte
from a
meteors appear to come
few days or weeks some
wers.
ese are called meteor sho
single point in the sky. Th
ploughs
d the Sun it periodically
As the Earth travels aroun
g the
itin
orb
o
comets that are als
through the remnants of
n’s
Su
ide the orbit of Mars the
Sun. When comets are ins
of
ich release large amounts
radiation heats the ices wh
met’s
see this material as the co
dust, rocks and gas. We
of
ns
llio
tail, which can be mi
kilometres long.
led
Any rock or metal
After the comet has travel
s
bri
fragments reaching
back out beyond Mars, de
it.
the ground from larger
trails behind along its orb
gh
meteors are called
ou
thr
s
The Earth passe
meteorites.
s at
some of this orbital debri
yearly journey
the same times during its
e we see an increase
around the Sun. Each tim
rs, and they appear to
in the number of meteo
point in the sky, called
emanate from the same
the ‘radiant’.
ective, similar to rain
This is an illusion of persp
s us from a point in
seeming to come toward
in car headlights at night
r is named from the
ves forward. Each showe
mo
car
the
as
ce
tan
dis
the
, Geminids.
the radiant, e.g. Orionids
constellation containing
nd is the Leonids,
r to observe in New Zeala
we
sho
st
be
e
Th
:
IDS
LEON
vember.
ber, peaking around 17 No
vem
No
21
14–
g
rin
du
ar
which appe
3am till half
can be seen from about
rs
teo
me
of
ers
mb
nu
Increased
which is low in the
eaming from the radiant
an hour before dawn str
ellation Leo.
t star Regulus in the const
northeast below the brigh
orise at
Meteors vmapaltitude
50-120k sosphere
in the me
SCIENC
CONTEN E
T/
CURRIC
ULUM L
INK
NATURE
INVESTIG OF SCIENCE
–
EXTEND ATING IN SCIEN
PERSON EXPERIENCES CE.
AND
AL E
THE NAT XPLANATIONS O
URAL W
F
ORLD.
Meteors in a shower all appear to come
from the same point in the sky. Image
credit: © 2015 Maurice on the Moon –
eBook Series by Daniel Barth
Check out these
other resources...
Table of Southern Meteor
Showers – http://www.rasnz.org.
nz/in-the-sky/meteor-showers
What is a meteor shower? –
http://www.timeanddate.com/
astronomy/meteor-shower/
S
T
N
I
O
P
N
O
I
S
S
U
C
S
I
D
storm?
r
o
e
t
e
m
a
is
What
are
What shoaprbeitss?
comet
eteor
Can we sneethme Moon?
showers o
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ACTIVITY
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY &
G
N
I
V
R
E
OBS
S
R
O
E
T
E
M
T
METEORS EVERY NIGH
y part of the
Meteors can appear in an
ion. They
ect
sky and travel in any dir
more than
flash across the sky in no
only see
a few seconds, so you can
looking in
them if you happen to be
ht time.
rig
the
the right direction at
So you need help.
ups is best.
Observing meteors in gro
stand or
To get full sky coverage,
s of two
sit back to back in group
. When
on
riz
to four facing the ho
observer
a meteor is spotted the
all the
immediately calls out so
ickly
qu
can
up
others in the gro
turn to see the trail.
METEOR SHOWERS
Regulus
JUPITER
LEO
RADIANT
MARS
NE
u know
With meteor showers yo
from, so
meteors should emanate
ed
the direction the expect
uate. The
eq
ad
gle observer should be
with a clear horizon a sin
an
rs d overall
s the most bright meteo
Leonid meteor shower ha
aland.
showers visible in New Ze
increase in meteor rate for
with the peak
from 14 to 21 November,
The Leonids can be seen
rs per hour may
peak of up to 100 meteo
A
r.
be
vem
No
17
d
un
aro
ht pollution.
completely devoid of lig
be seen from a dark site
be seen, the
faintest meteors cannot
In a large city, where the
meteors per hour.
peak might be only 20-30
, starting
northeast before sunrise
The radiant is low in the
low to the
rs can be seen overhead,
around 3am. The meteo
ard you. But
tow
ly
ming almost direct
west and east, or even co
n of Leo.
tio
to the zodiac constella
the trails will all lead back
Regulus,
is below and to the left of
The radiant of the Leonids
n
see
is
constellation Leo. Regulus
the brightest star in the
d 5:30am.
rtheast horizon at 5am an
26° and 30° above the no
How to find the Leonids meteor shower (November 2015).
What is the
difference between
a comet, asteroid,
meteor and
meteorite?
W...
DID YOU KNO
r showers
there are 21 meteo6 are visible
each year? About 1ealand.
from New Z
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