Meteor rate
Meteor rate is the number of meteors seen per hour, which varies with the shower, sky darkness and time of night.
The meteor rate is simply how many meteors an observer sees in an hour. On any clear, dark night, you might see around 5 to 10 sporadic meteors per hour, not belonging to any shower. During a major shower, rates can rise to 50 to 100 or more.
Rates change through the night. In the evening, your side of Earth faces away from the direction Earth is travelling, so fewer meteors catch up with it. After midnight, you are on the leading side, sweeping up meteoroids like a car windscreen collecting snowflakes, so rates usually rise towards dawn. The height of a shower's radiant also matters: the higher it is, the more meteors appear.
Astronomers standardise counts into the zenithal hourly rate, which is what one observer would see under perfect skies with the radiant overhead. Real rates are almost always lower, especially if the Moon is bright or there is light pollution.
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Level: Explorer Ages 10 and up