Andromedids

The Andromedids meteor shower is associated with the comet 3D/Biela, the showers occurring as the earth's orbit passes through the tail of the comet. The comet largely broke up between 1843 and 1852 leading to particularly spectacular showers in subsequent cycles (1872, 1885).

Historical Appearances

The first known sighting of the Andromedids was December 6, 1741 over St Petersburg, Russia. Further strong showers were witnessed in 1798, 1825, 1830, 1838 and 1847. The Andromedids produced spectacular displays of several thousand meteors per hour in 1872 and 1885, as a result of Earth's orbit crossing the parent comet's orbital debris. In Burma the 1885 shower was perceived as a fateful omen as augering and was indeed followed swiftly by the collapse of the Konbaung Dynasty and the conquest by Britain.

Current Activity

Since the 19th century the Andromedids have faded so substantially that they are no longer generally visible to the naked eye, though some activity is still observable each year in mid-November given suitable detection equipment. Peak activity is currently less than three meteors per hour around November 14.

External links

• History of the shower and of the Biela Comet
• P. Jenniskens examines whether Earth really passed through the Biela debris field as had previously been assumed

References

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