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Explorer Library · Ages All ages

Fireballs and Meteor Showers

An Observer's Guide

Corvanelle Publishing

Most meteors are grains smaller than rice, striking the air at 11 to 72 kilometres per second. This observer's guide explains the physics, the comets and asteroids behind every major shower, and the history from the 1833 Leonid storm to dust-trail forecasts accurate to minutes. It teaches standard counting and the ZHR formula with worked examples, magnitude estimation, radio and camera methods, and what to record after a fireball, then follows tracked falls such as Příbram, Chelyabinsk, Winchcombe and asteroids spotted hours before impact.

  • 47,105 words
  • About 259 pages
  • 31 chapters
  • Ages All ages
£6.99

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Meteors, Meteoroids and Meteorites
  3. Comets, Asteroids and Meteoroid Streams
  4. The Radiant
  5. The Leonid Storm of 1833
  6. The Showers of the Year: January to June
  7. The Showers of the Year: July to September
  8. The Showers of the Year: October to December
  9. Storms and Outbursts
  10. Measuring Brightness: The Magnitude Scale
  11. The Eye at Night
  12. Planning an Observing Night
  13. Counting Meteors
  14. From Counts to ZHR
  15. Meteors by Radio and Radar
  16. Fireballs and Bolides
  17. Great Fireballs of History
  18. Seen a Fireball? What to Record
  19. Photographing Meteors
  20. Cameras That Watch the Sky
  21. From Fireball to Meteorite
  22. Asteroids Found Before They Hit
  23. Orbits and the Origins of Meteoroids
  24. Meteors and the Upper Atmosphere
  25. Meteoroids Beyond the Earth
  26. Worked Problems in Meteor Science
  27. Appendix A: Shower Calendar
  28. Appendix B: A Gazetteer of Fireballs and Tracked Falls
  29. Appendix C: A Timeline of Meteor Science
  30. Appendix D: Further Study
  31. Glossary