[Explanation] According to astronomers' predictions, on May 31, a "unpopular" and "mysterious" meteor shower, the Hercules τ meteor shower, is extremely large and may usher in a super explosion.

How should this meteor shower be observed?

What else do you know about the "meteor shower"?

Come hear what the experts have to say.

　　[Subtitles] How do meteors and meteor showers come about?

　　[Concurrent] Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society, an astronomical science expert

　　In fact, there are many granular celestial bodies around the earth, and their volumes are not large.

After these celestial bodies enter the earth's atmosphere, they will rub against the atmosphere to produce light, which is what we see as meteors.

According to statistics, in the night with good observation conditions, about 10 meteors can appear in the sky that we can see every hour. Of course, the time and orientation of these meteors are very random. We call it an occasional meteor. .

　　Some of the meteor showers we can see come from comets and asteroids in our solar system.

A comet is essentially a dirty snowball, and it's the kind that drops scum as it runs.

These small particles that leave the comet, we can all regard it as an independent meteoroid, which also revolves around the sun.

If their orbits intersect the Earth's orbit, then Earth passes through a particular group of meteoroids at roughly the same time every year, forming a meteor shower.

　　[Subtitles] What is special about the τ Hercules meteor shower?

　　[Concurrent] Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society, an astronomical science expert

　　The parent body of the Tau Hercules meteor shower is Comet Schwassmann-Wachman 3, which we can call 73P or SW3 for short, which was discovered in 1930.

It was lost shortly after it was discovered, and it was not observed again until its return in 1979. What happened to this comet in the past 40 years is still an unsolved mystery.

By the time it returned in 2006, astronomers observed that it had broken into at least 65 pieces.

　　The gift of 73P to us is the τ Hercules meteor shower.

A Russian astronomer predicted through model calculations that there may be an explosion this year (2022).

His model shows that at 13:00 Beijing time on May 31, the earth will pass through the dust clumps erupted when 73P once returned, possibly bringing a "meteor shower", with the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Occurrence Rate) of The upper limit may even reach 100,000.

However, we must recognize the reality that our current astronomical observation level can accurately predict the maximum time of meteor showers, but in fact, it is impossible to accurately predict the specific flow of meteor showers, the brightness of meteors and other information.

According to the latest model calculations, the ZHR of its (Tau Hercules meteor shower) is likely to be around 15, and the (numerical) gap is obviously very huge.

Because of this, IMO, the International Meteor Organization, is very cautious about the forecast of this meteor shower, and the ZHR value listed for it is still "unknown".

　　[Subtitles] How should we observe meteor showers?

　　[Concurrent] Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society, an astronomical science expert

　　First, you need to determine the maximum time, ZHR, and lunar phase information of the meteor shower.

For details, please log in to the official website of the International Meteor Organization to check.

　　Each meteor shower has a very large window period, and this window period can contract more than 90% of the meteors in the entire meteor shower.

So it is very important to know the maximum time of the meteor shower.

The maximum time of this Hercules τ meteor shower is about 13:00 on May 31, Beijing time, which is exactly the daytime, which is also a condition that is not conducive to observation.

However, in fact, the large meteor showers that are worth watching, such as the Perseid meteor shower and the Gemini meteor shower, have relatively stable flow one or two days before and at the peak, and can be observed one or two nights before and after.

　　Although the probability is not high, this is indeed the only chance for a "meteor rainstorm" in decades. The most fascinating thing about meteors should be the uncertainty, so I hope everyone can calm down and find a comparison of the surrounding light pollution In a few places, when conditions permit, enjoy the starry sky above.

　　Reporter Cheng Yu reports from Beijing

Responsible editor: [Luo Pan]