The identity of the meteor shower in the night sky space show | smiley smile

Science stories of people who make exciting science (2)From the night of August 12 to the dawn of the 13th, and from the night of the 13th to the dawn of the 14th, a Perseus meteor shower fell on Earth. Unfortunately, most of the country is cloudy and rainy, but this is the time of year to see the most spectacular meteor showers. The Perseus meteor shower is considered one of the three major meteor showers that can be seen throughout the year along with the Quadrant meteor shower (January) and the Gemini meteor shower (December). A meteor shower is a phenomenon in which meteors fall like rain. What causes meteor showers?

In outer space, besides planets such as Earth, numerous objects are floating around. Objects of various sizes orbiting around a planet are called meteoroids. Most meteoroids are formed by the separation of comets and asteroids. These meteoroids are attracted to the Earth’s gravity and when they pass through the atmosphere, they rub once morest the air and emit a bright light. These are called meteors or shooting stars. Meteor showers are also called meteor showers.

A Perseus meteor shower observed in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do in August last year. yunhap news

Meteors appear white to our eyes, but they are actually different colors. The human eye cannot distinguish different colors, but the camera can confirm the colors of the colorful meteors. What is the reason for the different colors of meteors? When a meteoroid falls at a high speed, friction with the atmosphere generates high heat. At this time, the temperature of the atmosphere around the meteoroid also rises, causing the atmospheric components to ionize and emit light of different colors.

Meteor showers occur at regarding the same time each year. This is because the Earth revolves around the sun once a year. Comets and asteroids leave a lot of debris in their orbits when they pass around the sun, and when the Earth passes through this space, the debris falls to the Earth and becomes a meteor shower.

In fact, meteors usually fall a lot. However, it is difficult to observe because 70% of the earth is the ocean, and humans live in some areas even on land. Especially in cities, there are fewer opportunities to see meteors because there are so many lights at night.

Meteors are best seen on clear nights with few clouds. It is good that there is no moon. When there is a bright moon, it is difficult to observe meteors because it is obscured by the moonlight. A place with an open view and no tall buildings around is advantageous for viewing the meteors. The darker and higher the better. It is better to see with the naked eye than to use a telescope. If you carefully observe the night sky, you may see an unexpected space show.

Mikyung Kim, teacher at Namgang Middle School in Seoul