4 meteor showers prove you are the luckiest

You will regret it if you've never seen a beautiful meteor shower moment.

Since ancient times, meteor has always been one of the astronomical phenomena that people desire to discover. The beauty and mystery of the meteor shower made many people believe in the concept: praying or wishing when meteor falls, the wish will become a reality.

As reported, in mid-December, we have the opportunity to witness one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year: Geminids. So have you ever wondered, other than the phenomenon that there are other meteor showers?

Definitely yes. And below is a list of meteor showers that are classified as "classics" that if you witness it all, you will be the luckiest person!

1. Meteor shower Quadrantids

Quadrantids is a meteor shower that takes place on the first days of the new year (usually January 1 - January 5). Along with Perseids and Geminids, the Quadrantids is one of the most remarkable astronomical phenomena of the year.

When this meteor shower reaches its peak, you can observe up to 100 star streaks every hour. However, the peak of this meteor shower only lasted a few hours, not a few days like other meteor showers.

The meteor shower Quadrantids brings a lot of light streaks from meteors to Earth

The point of making Quadrantids' charm, that is the mysterious part of this meteor shower. In fact, Quadrantids comes from a constellation called Quadrans Muralis from the nineteenth century, but this constellation has completely disappeared in modern astronomical maps.

The constellation of Quadrans Muralis completely disappeared in the modern star map

On the other hand, so far, the "father" of this meteor shower is still very controversial. Many hypotheses suggest that the Quadrantids are small meteorite fragments that broke out from the 2003H1 asteroid, but there are also Quadrantids believers originating from comets C / 1490 Y1.

If the second hypothesis is correct, it is likely that the Quadrantids meteor shower is closely related to the disaster more than 500 years ago.

Specifically, many ancient documents recorded the meteorite event in 1490 in China, killing about 10,000 people in the Ming Dynasty. The perpetrator of the disaster is said to be the comet C / 1490 Y1.

2. Meteor shower Perseids

Perseids is the name of one of the most famous meteor showers in the world. The name Perseids comes from the ancient Greek word, associated with the Asian god Perseus. In Vietnamese, this phenomenon has a very beautiful nickname is Anh Tien.

Perseids meteor shower usually appeared from mid-July and peaked in mid-August. From 36, the image of this meteor was recorded by the ancient Chinese. By 1865, humans had discovered the root of this phenomenon.

Accordingly, the Perseids meteor shower was due to the fragments of the 109P / Swift-Tuttle comet (ST) falling into the atmosphere to form. When peaked, we can observe about 60 meteor stars per hour in the Perseids meteor shower.

A special feature of Perseids is the high frequency of fireballs (fire balll). This is also one of the few meteor showers that Vietnamese people can observe with the naked eye. Usually, meteors in this phenomenon fly into the atmosphere at an altitude of about 80km above the ground.

3. Meteor shower Leonids

Leonids meteor showers appear in the middle of November every year (usually from November 13 to November 21). This rain comes from the constellation Lion (Leo), plus meteor streaks that often emit a lion like mane should be called Leonids.

Leonids is the only meteor shower in the year that could cause a 'storm'. Normally, according to the 33-year cycle, the meteor shower of Leonids will be unusually large, when peaking, it can bring thousands of meteor stars into the atmosphere.

Stunning storms caused by meteorite Leonids cause a lion-like mane

This event first occurred in 1833, when a meteor storm Leonids landed on Earth. At that time, even a few superstitious people said that Leonids was a warning sign of Apocalypse of mankind.

The painting depicts the meteor event in 1833

The last time the Leonids meteorological occurrence occurred between 1998 and 2002, with a frequency of 3,000 meteors per hour. Thus, we will need to wait another 20 years to witness the most amazing astronomical phenomenon in the next history.

4. Meteor shower Geminids

Geminids are the last meteor shower of the year but also the most anticipated rain. In essence, they were the meteorite pieces of comet 3200 Phaethons flying into the Earth's atmosphere.

Meteor shower Geminids appeared in mid-December at a height of 100km above the ground. When the rain reaches its peak, we can observe from 50 to 100 meteors per hour.

Interesting point of Geminids, it is the appearance of fireballs 'chewing the Earth' (Earthgrazer) . They are glowing star streaks that fly horizontally and almost overlap with the horizon.

Light streaks across the sky are characteristic of the Geminids meteor shower

To fully view this meteor shower, follow the advice of astronomers below:

- The time of midnight in the morning is the most ideal time.

- Stand outside in the night for 5 minutes to make your eyes familiar with the dark. If you count on 50 stars in the sky, it is a sign of cloudiness and allows you to watch meteor.

- Choose a suitable location, stay away from places with artificial lighting or under the moonlight.

- Wear warm clothes carefully because the night time is very cold.