Meteor Stream

Relatively narrow band of meteoroids stretched out along the orbital path of a cometConglomeration of frozen water and gases (methane, ammonia, CO2) and silicates that that formed in the outer solar system and orbits the Sun. In recent years, the description of comets has shifted from dirty snowballs to snowy dirtballs with more dust than ice. However, the ratio is less than 10-to-1. Click on Term to Read More. It consists of dust released from the nucleusCore of an atom, where nearly the entire mass and all positive charge is concentrated. It consists of protons and neutrons. Click on Term to Read More of a comet during its perihelion passage. The dust grains escape the weak gravityAttractive force between all matter - one of the four fundamental forces. Click on Term to Read More of the nucleus and travel on their own independent, heliocentricCentered around a sun. Our own Solar System is centered around the Sun so that all planets such as Earth orbit around the Sun. Note that 25% of Americans incorrectly believe the Sun revolves around the Earth. Click on Term to Read More orbits. Although these orbits remain similar to that of the parent comet, the different velocities at which they were ejected from the nucleus give them slightly different semi-major axes and orbital periods. Slight differences in the resultant orbital periods cause the individual dust grains to spread out along the orbital path of the parent comet. If the Earth’s orbitThe elliptical path of one body around another, typically the path of a small body around a much larger body. However, depending on the mass distribution of the objects, they may rotate around an empty spot in space • The Moon orbits around the Earth. • The Earth orbits around Click on Term to Read More intersects the meteorHow long Sonic booms Of the several 10s of tons of cosmic material entering Earth's atmosphere each day, only about one ton reaches the surface. An object's chance of survival depends on its initial mass, speed and angle of entry, and friability (tendency to break up). Micrometeoroids radiate heat so Click on Term to Read More stream, a meteor showerThe light phenomena produced by particles (meteoroids) traveling through a planet’s atmosphere and heating the surrounding air.   Meteor showers occur at particular times of year when the Earth intersects  debris traveling along the orbit of a comet. Light phenomenon that occurs when the orbit of the Earth passes through Click on Term to Read More is observed. Meteor streams are relatively short-lived phenomena with most only lasting of order 10,000 years. They are dispersed by radiation pressureMinute pressure exerted by electromagnetic radiation (such as but not limited to light from the sun) on everything it encounters. This can be thought of as the transfer of momentum from photons as they strike the surface of the object. In the environs of stars such pressure can become important Click on Term to Read More, collisions between the meteoroids, and gravitational perturbations and collisions with other planets.

Image source: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cms/astro/cosmos/M/Meteor+Stream.