Arietids

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Appearance of the eastern sky at 5:00 am on June 7, 2000 from a mid-northern latitude observing site.
Appearance of the eastern sky at 5:00 am on June 7, 2000 from a mid-northern latitude observing site.

The Arietids are a strong meteor shower that lasts from May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Arietids, along with the zeta Perseids, are the most intense daylight meteor showers of the year.[1] The source of the shower is unknown, but scientists suspect that they come from the asteroid 1566 Icarus.[1][2]

First discovered at Jodrell Bank Observatory in England during the summer of 1947, the showers are caused when the Earth passes through a dense portion of two interplanetary meteoroid streams, producing an average of 60 shooting stars each hour, that originate in the sky from the constellation Aries and the constellation Perseus.[3] However, because both constellations are so close to the Sun when these showers reach their peak, the showers are difficult to view with the naked eye.[1] Some of the early meteors are visible in the very early hours of the morning, usually an hour before dawn.[4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c NASA (2000). June's Invisible Meteors (English). NASA. Retrieved on September 7, 2007.
  2. ^ spaceweather.com. Daylight Meteors: The Arietids (English). spaceweather.com. Retrieved on September 7, 2007.
  3. ^ Meteor Showers Online. Arietids (English). Meteor Showers Online. Retrieved on September 7, 2007.
  4. ^ James Turley (1999). Listen...to the Arietids!! (English). The Astronomy Connection. Retrieved on September 7, 2007.
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