meteor shower news stories on Newser

Don't Forget: 'Supermoon' Tonight

Rob Quinn — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:56:17 CDT

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year will grace the skies tonight. The "supermoon," which occurs when the moon is nearest Earth in its orbit, will appear only slightly smaller than last year's, which was the brightest full moon in nearly 20 years. It will become full at...

Meteor Show Tonight

John Johnson — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 10:46:12 CDT

The sky is putting on a free light show night. The Lyrid meteor shower is here, and it peaks in the wee hours, reports Discovery News . The Lyrids aren't as big as the Perseids of summer or the Geminids of winter, notes ABC News , but a new moon tonight should...

Year's First Meteor Shower Could Be Its Best

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:42:55 CST

The new year starts off with what is expected to be one of the best meteor showers of 2012: For those watching in North America early tomorrow morning, 60 to 200 meteors will streak by per hour during the Quadrantid meteor shower. According to CNN , NASA pegs the perfect viewing...

Orionid Meteor Shower Headed This Way

Rob Quinn — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:10:00 CDT

The annual Orionid meteor shower will peak just before dawn on Friday and Saturday this week —although the sight won't be as amazing in years past, astronomers say. The meteor shower—caused by Earth passing through a cloud of dust left behind by Halley's comet—will be hard to spot...

Weekend Meteor Shower Could Be Meteor Storm

John Johnson — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:05:41 CDT

It's like a space tease: The normally tame Draconid meteor shower is expected to be unusually intense on Saturday, but viewers in North America look to be largely out of luck. As of now, the shower is expected to peak in daylight hours from 3 to 5pm ET, though a...

Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

John Johnson — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:14:05 CDT

Light show! The Perseid meteor shower is back, and peak viewing will be overnight tonight and into the predawn hours of tomorrow, reports Space.com . Drawback: A full moon will probably dim this year's show. Bonus to make up for that drawback: The International Space Station also should be visible...

Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Nick McMaster — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:33:33 CST

The Geminid meteor shower reaches its climax after midnight tonight, with the exact peak coming at 6am Eastern. Anyone living on planet Earth and away from light pollution should be able to see the show, LiveScience reports. The Geminids will produce more than 80 meteors a minute, so the naked...

Thousands-of-Years-Long Meteor Shower Killed Dinos

Emily Rauhala — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:23:44 CDT

Some scientists believe a single meteor strike in the Gulf of Mexico doomed the dinosaurs, but new research suggests that the dinosaurs may have been wiped out by a meteor shower that lasted thousands of years, finds the Telegraph . A recent study of a crater in Ukraine, which dates much,...

Meteors Put On a Show Tonight

John Johnson — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:30:30 CDT

Your local weather permitting, the annual Perseid meteor shower should light up the skies in the wee hours tonight, reports the Christian Science Monitor . The usual caveats apply—like the further you can get from the lights of the big city, the better your show. Best bet is to start...