Meteor showers in 2021 that will light up the night sky

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All year round, as the Earth revolves around the sun, it traverses waves of cosmic debris. The resulting meteor showers can light up the night sky from dusk to dawn, and if you’re lucky you might be able to catch one.

If you spot a meteor shower, what you really see are the remnants of icy comets crashing into Earth’s atmosphere. Comets are a bit like dirty snowballs: as they travel through the solar system, they leave behind a dusty trail of rocks and ice that lingers in space long after they’ve left. As Earth passes through these cascades of cometary waste, the pieces of debris – which can be as small as grains of sand – pierce the sky with such speed that they explode, creating a heavenly firework display.

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A rule of thumb with meteor showers: you never watch Earth pass each other in the remnants of a comet’s most recent orbit. Instead, the burning bits are from previous passes. For example, during the Perseid meteor shower, you see meteors ejected from the visit of its parent comet, Comet Swift-Tuttle, in or before 1862, and not from its most recent visit in 1992.

That’s because it takes time for debris from a comet’s orbit to drift into a position where it intersects Earth’s orbit, according to Bill Cooke, astronomer with NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

The name attached to a meteor shower is usually related to the constellation in the sky that they appear to come from, known as the radiant. For example, the Orionid meteor shower can be found in the sky when astronomers have a good view of the constellation Orion.

The best way to see a meteor shower is to go to a location with a clear view of the entire night sky. Ideally, it would be somewhere with a dark sky, away from city lights and traffic. To maximize your chances of seeing the show, look for a location that offers a wide, unobstructed view.

Chunks of meteor shower are visible for a while, but they really visibly peak from dusk to dawn on any given days. These days are the days when Earth’s orbit crosses the thickest part of the cosmic flow. Meteor showers can vary in their peak hours, some peaking for just a few hours and others for several nights. Showers tend to be more noticeable after midnight and before dawn.

It’s best to use your naked eye to spot a meteor shower. Binoculars or telescopes tend to limit your field of vision. You may need to spend about half an hour in the dark to let your eyes get used to the reduced light.

Astronomers should be warned that too much moonlight and the weather can mask a meteor shower. You can check the moon phase and your local weather report to see if you will get a good show or not.

If your local sky isn’t bright, sometimes there are meteor livestreams online, such as those hosted by NASA or Slooh.

While the International Meteor Organization lists a variety of meteor showers that could be observed, below are the rains most likely to be seen in the sky this year. Peak dates can change throughout the year as astronomers update their estimates.

Active from December 28 to January 12. Peaks around January 2-3.

The Quadrantids give their own New Year’s fireworks display. Compared to most other meteor showers, these are unusual as they are believed to originate from an asteroid. They tend to be paler with less streaking in the sky than the others on this list.

Active from April 14 to 30. Peaks around April 21-22.

There are records of ancient Chinese astronomers who spotted these bursts of light over 2,700 years ago. They cross the sky at about 107,000 miles per hour and explode at about 55 miles in the planet’s atmosphere. This downpour comes from Comet Thatcher, which circles the sun approximately every 415 years. His last trip was in 1861 and his next rendezvous near the sun will be in 2276.

Active from April 19 to May 28. Peaks around May 5th and 6th.

The Eta Aquariids, also sometimes referred to as Eta Aquarids, are one of two meteor showers from Comet Halley. Its sister shower, the Orionids, will peak in October. The Eta Aquariids’ spots cross the sky at around 148,000 miles per hour, making them one of the fastest meteor showers. Its display is best seen from the southern hemisphere where people normally enjoy between 20 and 30 meteors per hour during its peak. The northern hemisphere tends to see about half of it.

Active from July 12 to August 23. Peaks around July 28-29.

They come from comet 96P Machholz, which passes near the sun every five years. Its meteors, which number 10 to 20 per hour, are most visible before dawn, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. It tends to be more visible from the southern hemisphere.

Active from July 17 to August 24. Peaks around August 11-12.

The Perseids light up the night sky when Earth encounters cosmic debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. The dirty snowball is 27 km wide and takes about 133 years to orbit the sun. His last tour dates back to 1992.

Usually between 160 and 200 meteors dazzle into Earth’s atmosphere every hour during the peak display. They zoom into the atmosphere at about 133,000 miles per hour and erupt about 60 miles above our heads.

Active from October 2 to November 7. Peaks around October 20-21.

The Orionids are a reminder of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaks in May. Both originate from cosmic matter spat out by Halley’s Comet. Since celestial fame orbits Earth once every 76 years, this weekend’s showers are your chance to see the comet’s remnants until the real deal comes in 2061.

Active between November 6 and 30. Peaks around November 16 and 17.

Leonids are one of the most dazzling meteor showers and every few decades they produce a meteor storm where over 1000 meteors can be seen per hour. Fingers crossed for luck – the last time the Leonids were this strong was in 2002. Its parent comet is called Comet-Temple / Tuttle and it orbits the sun every 33 years.

Active from December 4 to 20. Peaks around December 13-14.

The Geminids, as well as the Quadrantids that peaked in January, are believed to have originated not from comets, but from asteroid-like space rocks. It is believed that the Geminids were produced by an object called the 3200 Phaethon. If you can see them, this meteor shower can light up the night sky with between 120 and 160 meteors per hour.

Active from December 17 to 26. Peaks around December 21-22.

The Ursids tend to light up the night sky around the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. They only fire about 10 to 20 meteors per hour. They seem to radiate from Ursa Minor and come from comet 8P / Tuttle.

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