What is the Meteor Shower?

La rain of stars, or meteor shower, is an astronomical phenomenon of singular beauty that, fortunately, we can enjoy a lot simply by observing the sky. But how is it formed? And, most importantly, if possible, What days can you see?

If you are interested in knowing everything about the meteor shower, do not stop reading.

What is the Meteor Shower?

In outer space there are comets, meteorites, asteroids, and various astronomical objects which, when approaching the interior of the Solar System, the wind from the king star causes the surface to activate; So, The gases and materials that compose them are released into space so that a stream or ring of particles is formed, which is known as a meteor swarm.. If it is a meteor, this swarm is often called a shooting star.

The light effect is produced by the ionization of the atmosphere generated by the particleMost meteors that enter Earth's atmosphere are very small, like grains of sand, so when they disintegrate at an altitude of 80-100 km, the effect isn't very impressive. However, there are others, called fireballs, that disintegrate at an altitude of 13-50 km, leaving behind an astonishing flash of light.

How to identify shooting stars?

This phenomenon has three characteristics that make it unique: the radiant, the population index and the Zenital Hourly Rate or THZ.

Radiant: it is the point from which the meteors stop coming out of a shower. It is measured by the coordinates Alpha, which is the right ascension or AR, and Delta, which is the declination or Ddec.
Population index: is the brightness ratio between the members of the same meteor swarm.
Zenital Hourly Rate: is the calculated maximum number of meteors that an observer could see in case the sky was clear, the Moon was not full, and there was no light pollution.

List of meteor showers

Here is a list of all the meteor showers of the International Meteor Organization (IMO):

Rain	Period of activity	Maximum		Radiant		V_infinite	r	thz
		Date	Salt	α	δ	km / s
Quadrantids (QUA)	Jan 01-Jan 05	Jan 03	283 ° 16	Inline	+ 49 °	41	2.1	120
δ-Cancridas (DCA)	Jan 01-Jan 24	Jan 17	Inline	Inline	+ 20 °	28	3.0	4
α-Centaurides (ACE)	Jan 28-Feb 21	February 07	319 ° 2	Inline	-59 °	56	2.0	6
δ-Leonids (DLE)	Feb 15-Mar 10	February 24	Inline	Inline	+ 16 °	23	3.0	2
γ-Normids (GNO)	Feb 25-Mar 22	Márta 13	Inline	Inline	-51 °	56	2.4	8
Virginids (VIR)	Jan 25-Apr 15	(Mar 24)	(4 °)	Inline	-04 °	30	3.0	5
Lyrid (LYR)	Apr 16-Apr 25	Apr 22	032 ° 32	Inline	+ 34 °	49	2.1	18
π-Puppid (PPU)	Apr 15-Apr 28	Apr 24	033 ° 5	Inline	-45 °	18	2.0	var
η-Aquarids (ETA)	Apr 19-May 28	May 05	045 ° 5	Inline	-01 °	66	2.4	60
Sagittarids (SAG)	Apr 15-Jul 15	(May 19)	(59 °)	Inline	-22 °	30	2.5	5
June Bootidas (JBO)	Jun 26-Jul 02	Meitheamh 27	095 ° 7	Inline	+ 48 °	18	2.2	var
Pegasids (JPE)	Jul 07-Jul 13	July 09	107 ° 5	Inline	+ 15 °	70	3.0	3
Julio Phoenícidos (PHE)	Jul 10-Jul 16	July 13	Inline	Inline	-48 °	47	3.0	var
Pisces Austrinids (PAU)	Jul 15-Aug 10	July 28	Inline	Inline	-30 °	35	3.2	5
δ-South Aquarids (SDA)	Jul 12-Aug 19	July 28	Inline	Inline	-16 °	41	3.2	20
α-Capricornids (CAP)	Jul 03-Aug 15	July 30	Inline	Inline	-10 °	23	2.5	4
ι-South Aquarids (SIA)	Jul 25-Aug 15	Aug 04	Inline	Inline	-15 °	34	2.9	2
δ-North Aquarids (NDA)	Jul 15-Aug 25	Aug 08	Inline	Inline	-05 °	42	3.4	4
Perseids (PER)	Jul 17-Aug 24	Aug 12	Inline	Inline	+ 58 °	59	2.6	100
κ-Cygnides (KCG)	Aug 03-Aug 25	Aug 17	Inline	Inline	+ 59 °	25	3.0	3
ι-North Aquarids (NIA)	Aug 11-Aug 31	Aug 19	Inline	Inline	-06 °	31	3.2	3
α-Aurigid (AUR)	Aug 25-Sep 08	Sep 01	158 ° 6	Inline	+ 42 °	66	2.6	10
δ-Aurigid (DAU)	Sep 05-Oct 10	Sep 09	166 ° 7	Inline	+ 47 °	64	2.9	5
Piscides (SPI)	Sep 01-Sep 30	Sep 19	Inline	Inline	-01 °	26	3.0	3
Draconids (GIA)	Oct 06-Oct 10	Deireadh Fómhair 08	195 ° 4	Inline	+ 54 °	20	2.6	var
ε-Geminids (EGE)	Oct 14-Oct 27	Deireadh Fómhair 18	Inline	Inline	+ 27 °	70	3.0	2
Orionids (ORI)	Oct 02-Nov 07	Deireadh Fómhair 21	Inline	Inline	+ 16 °	66	2.5	23
South Taurids (STA)	Oct 01-Nov 25	November 05	Inline	Inline	+ 13 °	27	2.3	5
North Tauridas (NTA)	Oct 01-Nov 25	November 12	Inline	Inline	+ 22 °	29	2.3	5
Leonidas (LEO)	Nov 14-Nov 21	November 17	235 ° 27	Inline	+ 22 °	71	2.5	20+
α-Monocerotides (AMO)	Nov 15-Nov 25	November 21	239 ° 32	Inline	+ 01 °	65	2.4	var
χ-Orionids (XOR)	Nov 26-Dec 15	December 02	Inline	Inline	+ 23 °	28	3.0	3
Phoenicides Dec (PHO)	Nov 28-Dec 09	December 06	254 ° 25	Inline	-53 °	18	2.8	var
Puppid / Fluffy (PUP)	Dec 01-Dec 15	(Dec 07)	(255 °)	Inline	-45 °	40	2.9	10
Monocerotids (MON)	Nov 27-Dec 17	December 09	Inline	Inline	+ 08 °	42	3.0	3
σ-Hydrides (HYD)	Dec 03-Dec 15	December 12	Inline	Inline	+ 02 °	58	3.0	2
Geminids (GEM)	Dec 07-Dec 17	December 14	262 ° 2	Inline	+ 33 °	35	2.6	120
Eat Berenicides (COM)	Dec 12-Jan 23	December 19	Inline	Inline	+ 25 °	65	3.0	5
Ursids (URS)	Dec 17-Dec 26	December 22	270 ° 7	Inline	+ 76 °	33	3.0	10

Important:

Rain: indicates the name and abbreviation of the rain.
Period of activity: are the days during which it is active.
Maximum:
- Date: is the date on which a greater number of meteors can be seen.
- Sun: Solar Longitude. It is the measure of the position of the Earth on its orbit.
Radiant: are the coordinates of the position of the radiant of the rain. α is Right Ascension, δ is Declination.
v infinite: speed reached by meteors when entering the atmosphere. It is given in km / s.
r: is the population index. If r is above 3.0, it means that it is weaker than average; instead if it is 2.0 to 2.5 then it will be brighter.
thz: is the Zenital Hourly Rate. If it is high, THZE is used. If it is variable, it indicates »var».

How to see meteor showers?

Shooting stars can be seen with the naked eye, provided the sky is clear and the moon is not full, but unfortunately, with the expansion of cities, it's becoming increasingly difficult to fully enjoy them. Therefore, If you want to contemplate its beauty, you must get as far away as possible from urban centers., which is also recommended in the best places to see the sky in Spain.

Take the opportunity to go with your loved ones to the countryside or the mountains to be able to observe them. I'm sure you'll have a great time  .

Major meteor showers and dates when they are seen

As we have seen, there are many swarms of shooting stars that can be seen throughout the year, but the best known are the following:

Quadrantids: Its period of activity extends from January 1 to 5, with its peak on the 3rd. It is one of the most active showers of the year, with a Zenith Hourly Rate of 120 meteors/h.
Lyrid: its period of activity extends between April 16 and 25, with its maximum being 22. Its THZ is 18 meteors per hour.
Perseids: Also known as the Tears of Saint Lawrence. Their activity period extends from July 17 to August 24, with their peak between the 11th and 13th. The Zenith Hourly Rate is 100 meteors/h. You can read more about them at this link.
Draconids: Sometimes called the Giacobinids, they are a meteor shower whose activity period runs from October 6th to 10th, reaching its peak on the 8th. They have a variable Zenith Hourly Rate.
Orionids: These are moderately active showers whose activity period extends from October 2 to November 7, reaching their peak on October 21. Their Zenith Hourly Rate is 23 meteors per hour. You can find more information at This article about the Orionids.
Leonidas: This meteor shower is active from November 15 to 21, reaching its peak every 33 years. Its Zenith Hourly Rate is 20 meteors/h.
Geminids: This is one of the most active showers. Its activity period extends from December 7th to 17th, and its peak day is the 13th. The Zenith Hourly Rate is 120 meteors per hour. this link you can learn more about this fascinating phenomenon.