Definition

Noun: A meteor shower is a celestial event where numerous meteors appear to radiate from one point in the night sky. This occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of cosmic debris left behind by a comet or, less commonly, an asteroid.

Usage

A meteor shower is a countable noun. It refers to the observable event itself. - The meteor shower was visible after midnight. - We are planning to watch the Perseid meteor shower this weekend. - Last night's meteor shower was spectacular.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "to peak": A meteor shower is often described as having a peak, which is the time of maximum meteor activity.
  • The Geminid meteor shower will peak on the night of December 13th.
• "to watch/observe a meteor shower": The standard collocation for viewing the event.
  • We drove to the countryside to observe the meteor shower away from city lights.

Variants and Related Words

• Meteor (noun): The streak of light in the sky caused by a small particle (a meteoroid) burning up in the atmosphere; commonly called a "shooting star."
• Meteoroid (noun): The small particle of rock or dust in space, before it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
• Radiant (noun): The point in the sky from which the meteors in a specific shower appear to originate. Meteor showers are often named after the constellation containing their radiant (e.g., Perseids from Perseus).

Synonyms

• Meteor storm: An extremely intense meteor shower with a very high rate of meteors per hour.
• Falling stars (informal): A common, non-scientific term for the visible meteors during a shower.

Related Phrases

• Annual meteor shower: A shower that occurs predictably each year as Earth crosses the same debris field.
  • The Lyrids are an annual meteor shower in April.
• Meteor shower activity: Refers to the rate or intensity of the shower.
  • Forecasters predict high meteor shower activity this year.

Noun

1. a transient shower of meteors when a meteor swarm enters the earth's atmosphere