The “most powerful meteor storm of generations” could light up the sky over North America next week.
Fragments of the dying comet SW3 are expected to be visible from the United States and parts of Canada when the Earth crosses its orbital trajectory on Tuesday.
Comet SW3, full name 73P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, is responsible for the dust fragments that cause Tau Herculids meteor showers.
SW3 split into large fragments in 1995, and has continued to fragment further since then.
Next week, the Earth could have a direct interaction with the comet’s debris for the first time.
However, NASA is not sure if the debris will reach us this year and has warned that the Tau Herculids will be “all or nothing.”
Images of 48 fragments of SW3 comets recorded in May 2006 by the infrared camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. The emission of dust particles heated by sunlight appears to fill space along the comet’s orbit.
A meteor shower occurs when the Earth traverses the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid.
Explanation: The difference between an asteroid, a meteorite, and other space rocks
An asteroid is a large piece of rock left over from collisions or the first solar system. Most lie between Mars and Jupiter in the main belt.
A comet is a rock covered with ice, methane, and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further away from the solar system.
A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when waste is burned.
This waste is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small that they vaporize into the atmosphere.
If any of these meteorites reach Earth, it is called a meteorite.
Meteorites, meteorites and meteorites usually originate from asteroids and comets.
For example, if the Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns into the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.
A meteor shower occurs when the Earth traverses the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid.
Most meteor showers are predictable and are repeated annually when the Earth traverses a particular runway of debris.
However, from time to time the Earth passes through a particularly narrow and dense group of space dust that becomes thousands of fast-moving shooting stars.
It is known as a meteorite storm and offers a dazzling spectacle for star observers.
The stellar pattern associated with Hercules Tau is the constellation of Hercules, the fifth largest constellation in the sky, and rain appears to radiate from a point about ten degrees from the star Arcturus.
SW3 was first detected in 1930 by German observers Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann, who determined that it had an orbit of 5.4 years.
Over time it became very faint, but in 1995 it unexpectedly became almost 400 times brighter and was even visible to the naked eye.
The comet’s icy core had split into four, releasing large amounts of gas and debris, which continued as it orbited the Sun.
In 2006, the shattered comet was in 68 pieces, and it is likely to have broken even further since then.
Computer modeling suggests that fragments of SW3 have spread out of its orbit like tentacles.
However, these fragments are not visible until the Earth plows into them.
This year, our planet is due to cross on May 31, although the comet itself is not supposed to pass until a few months later.
The brightness of the meteor storm will depend on the amount of debris that SW3 has thrown in front of it, if any.
This will be the first time that the Earth and the remains of important comets spilled in 1995 have come together since the fragmentation event.
If we cross a large concentration of debris, then there is the possibility of a dramatic meteor storm.
Bill Cooke, who heads NASA’s Office of the Meteorological Environment at Marshall Space Flight Center, describes it as “an all-or-nothing event.”
He said: “If SW3 debris was traveling at more than 220 mph (354 km / h) when it separated from the comet, we could see a good meteor shower.
“If the debris had slower ejection rates, nothing would reach Earth and there would be no meteors from this comet.
“It’s a perfect opportunity for space lovers to go out and experience one of nature’s most vivid light shows.”
Some models suggest that there will be a strong view of meteor showers, while others predict that cosmic fragments will not reach Earth’s path.
Earth Positions, SW3 (‘1995’) and alleged meteoroid train on May 31, 2022 using an orbital simulator. Left – Assuming meteoroids are behind the main comet. In this situation no interaction with the Earth can take place. Right: Assuming meteoroids move in front of the main comet. Interaction with Earth takes place between comet samples # 12 and # 13
Map of the geographical visibility of the possible eruption of meteorites. Radiant elevations are presented as concentric circles at 10◦ intervals. The radiant of a meteor shower is the celestial point of the sky from which the paths of meteors seem to originate for a terrestrial observer.
The Earth is expected to traverse the stream of debris left by SW3 in 1995 between 12:45 a.m. and 1:17 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, and is expected to last up to two hours if visible.
The phenomenon should be visible from North and South America, as it will be a new moon, so the very dark sky will allow maximum brightness.
The best view will be from the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, while it will also be viewable from the southeastern provinces of Canada.
However, it will not be seen from Alaska, Washington, and the northern and western provinces of Canada, as it will be dusk at the time of the rain.
In Australia, the storm will also end before it is dark enough to be seen, and is unlikely to be visible in the UK.
The Earth will also orbit SW3 in 1892 on Monday, May 30 at 2 pm ET, and then through its 1897 passage on Tuesday, May 31 at 6 am ET.
Unfortunately, the remaining debris from these orbits will have spread over time, so only a few meteors will be expected.
MEETINGS OF METEORS REMAINING IN 2022
Delta Aquarids: July 30-25 per hour: constant flow for days
Alpha Capricornids: July 30 – 5 per hour – Slow yellow fireballs
Perseids: August 12-13 – 100 per hour – Brilliant and fast meters with trains
Draconids: October 8-9 – 10 per hour – From Comet Giacobini-Zimmer
Orionids: October 21-22 – 25 per hour – Fast with good trains
Taurides: October 10-11 (South), November 12-13 (North) – 5 per hour – Very slow
Leonids: November 17-18 – 10 per hour – Fast and bright
Geminids: December 14-15 – 150 per hour – Bright and abundant, few trains
Ursids: December 22-23 – 10 per hour – Poor shower
Note: Dates refer to the peak of each shower