| the profusion of meteors observed when the earth passes through a meteor swarm. |
| meteor shower n. A large number of meteors that appear together and seem to come from the same area in the sky. |
| meteor shower
A brief period of heightened meteor activity, often occurring regularly in a particular part of the sky at a particular time of year. Meteor showers are generally named after the constellation in which they appear to originate; thus the Perseids appear to originate in the constellation Perseus and the Leonids in the constellation Leo. The showers occur when the Earth passes through a region having a greater than usual concentration of interplanetary debris, such as particles left by a disintegrating comet, at certain points in its orbit. Although the meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere on parallel trajectories, perspective makes it appear as if they originate from the same point in the sky, known as the radiant. |
