This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Canadian astronomers are all set up to view some celestial fireworks as Earth dashes through a curtain of space dust a million kilometres thick later this week. Although predictions of different astronomers range widely, many are expecting an exceptionally good meteor shower in the wee hours of May 24, just when Canada has a front-row seat.
An astronomer at the University of Western Ontario, Paul Wiegert, alleged that “I’m hopeful this is going to be one for the top ten list.” Often referred to as shooting stars, Meteors look like glowing dots of light that fall rapidly across the night sky. Technically, they are triggered by small bits of interplanetary debris, from pea-size rocks to powder-size specks, which tear into the atmosphere, usually at speeds well above 50,000 kilometres per hour, and burn up while still high above Earth’s surface. Meteor showers include hundreds of meteors that can be seen over the course of a night. They are usually linked to streams of particles that drift across Earth’s path after they are blown off passing comets.
Astronomers explain that this meteor shower is unique because it’s completely new to them. This one is the result of a little-known comet, called 209P/LINEAR, whose orbit was diverted in 2012 by a gravitational tug from Jupiter. While there’s no imminent danger from the comet, the shift put us on a collision course with a swarm of dust that the comet spewed out a few centuries ago.
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