Earth is moving through a bit of space where three streams of debris intersect with our orbit. These streams will give birth to the stars of this weekend’s show.
The 1833 Leonid Meteor storm, as seen over Niagara Falls.
Edmund Weiß (1888)
Could the Tau Herculid meteor shower put on a spectacular show next week? Only time will tell.
An Eta Aquariid meteor (centre) along with comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in the background, photographed during the 2020 Eta Aquariid shower.
Photo by Jonti Horner
A poor start for meteor showers in 2021 but things get better with a possible spectacular surprise later in the year. Here’s your guide on when and where to look to catch nature’s fireworks.
A composite image of one night watching the Orionids meteor shower.
Flickr/Jeff Sullivan
Moonlight will spoil some of the big meteor showers this year, but still plenty of others to see. So here’s your guide on when and where to look to catch nature’s fireworks.
Comet 46P/Wirtanen captured on November 15 this year using the remote iTelescope (Siding Springs Observatory, Australia).
Flickr/Victor R Ruiz
The comet 46P/Wirtanen is just 1.2km in size but it should be visible in the night sky this Saturday as it makes a close approach to Earth this year. And don’t forget the Geminids meteor shower.
Without the scientific knowledge we have today, ancient cultures turned to myths and legends to understand celestial objects.
The 2017 Geminids as seen from Ecuador, against the backdrop of the splendid Milky Way (centre) and the Large Magellanic Cloud (right).
Flickr/David Meyer
In five or seven billion years time, the Sun’s life will come to an end. And it will be really spectacular - if you’re watching from far enough away.
Patience can be rewarded as with this composite of the 2016 Geminids meteor shower, seen over Mt Teide volcano on the Canary Islands, off Spain.
Flickr/StarryEarth
From the high-speed journey to Jupiter to solar eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments visible in the skies above – add these space highlights to your 2016 calendar.
A brilliant fireball lights up the sky above the Southern Ocean at the 12 Apostles National Park on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia.
Alex Cherney
From a meteor shower to 67P’s closest approach to the sun: prepare to be amazed by comets.
A bright fireball over the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, ALMA, in Chile, marks the fiery death of a small grain of space debris, high in the atmosphere.
ESO/C. Malin
Meteors have been seen since people first looked at the night sky. They are comprised of small pieces of debris, typically no larger than a grain of dust or sand, which continually crash into the Earth’s…