Definition

Noun: A meteor swarm is a group of meteoroids traveling through space together on similar, parallel orbits. When Earth passes through such a swarm, it can result in a meteor shower, where numerous meteors are seen streaking across the sky from a common point of origin, or radiant.

Usage

The term is used in astronomy to describe the specific, concentrated stream of particles that causes an enhanced meteor shower. - The annual Perseid meteor shower is caused by Earth passing through a debris field known as the Perseid meteor swarm. - Astronomers predicted a strong display this year due to a dense part of the Leonid meteor swarm.

Advanced Usage

• Predicting Intensity: The observed intensity of a meteor shower depends on whether Earth passes through the core of a meteor swarm or only grazes its outer edges.
• Parent Body: A meteor swarm is often composed of debris shed by a comet or, less commonly, a broken asteroid.

Variants and Related Words

• Meteoroid: A small rocky or metallic body in outer space, significantly smaller than an asteroid.
• Meteor Shower: The celestial event where numerous meteors are observed radiating from one point in the night sky, caused by Earth intersecting a meteor swarm.
• Meteor: The light phenomenon (a "shooting star") observed when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes.

Synonyms

• Meteor stream
• Meteoroid stream
• Debris stream

Related Phrases

• To encounter a meteor swarm: This phrase describes a planet or spacecraft moving through such a concentration of particles.
  • The spacecraft's shields were reinforced in case it would encounter a meteor swarm.

Noun

1. a group of meteoroids with similar paths