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Sporadic Meteors
"The number of random, or “sporadic” meteors that can be seen in the night sky is quite variable, depending upon such factors as the time of night, time of year, light pollution, and cloud conditions. Perhaps the most important factors necessary in order to observe meteors are to have a clear, unobstructed view, out in the open, and under as dark sky conditions as possible.
Over the course of a night, it will be noticed that more sporadic meteors can be seen in the hours before sunrise than in the hours after sunset. This is due to the motion of the Earth as it revolves around the sun, with the leading edge (morning side) of the Earth encountering more meteoroids than the trailing edge (evening side). In general, 2 to 3 times as many meteors can be seen in the hour or so just before morning twilight, than can be seen in the early evening. Additionally, the numbers of random, or sporadic meteors will also vary from season to season, due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis and other factors. As a general rule, about 2 to 3 times as many sporadic meteors can be seen in the early fall (September) as can be seen in the early spring (March). Together, these two effects can generate a fluctuation in the hourly rate of sporadic meteors by a factor of 4 to 9 times, over the course of the year.
Under good conditions, only about 2-4 sporadic meteors can be seen per hour in the early evening in March, with this rate increasing to about 4-8 sporadic meteors per hour by morning twilight. These rates will then slowly increase throughout the spring and summer. By the month of September, the evening sporadic rate will be up to about 4-8 meteors per hour, increasing up to about 8-16 sporadic meteors per hour by morning twilight. Throughout the remainder of the fall and winter, these rates will slowly drop off, returning to the March levels again. Note that these rates are rough guidelines only, with random statistical fluctuations, observing conditions, and personal perception all playing a role in the actual number of meteors seen". American Meteor Society
Meteor Showers
"A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the Earth's surface. Very intense or unusual meteor showers are known as meteor outbursts and meteor storms, which produce at least 1,000 meteors an hour, most notably from the Leonids. The Meteor Data Centre lists over 900 suspected meteor showers of which about 100 are well established". Wikipedia
List of Major Shower Names - Date of Maximum activity - Normal Limits - Description:
Quadrantids max Jan 3-4 normal limits ( Jan 1-6) Blue meteors with fine trains
Lyrids max April 22 normal limits (April 16-25) Bright fast meteors, some with trains.
Associated with Comet Thatcher
Eta Aquarids max May 5 normal limits (Apr 24-May 20) Low in sky.
Associated with Comet Halley
Capricornids max July 8-26 normal limits July-August Bright meteors
Alpha Capricornids max Aug 2 normal limits July 15-Aug 25 Yellow slow fireballs
Perseids max Aug 12-13 normal limits July 23-Aug 20
Associated with Comet Swift-Tuttle
Orionids max Oct 22 normal limits Oct 16-27
Associated with Comet Halley
Taurids max Nov 4 normal limits Oct 20-Nov 30 Very slow meteors
Leonids max Nov 17-18 normal limits Nov 15-20 Fast bright meteors with fine trains.
Associated with Comet Tempel-Tuttle
Geminids max Dec 14 normal limits Dec 7-16 Plenty of bright meteors, a few in trains
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