meteor shower

American  

Also meteoric shower

noun

Astronomy.

1. the profusion of meteors observed when the earth passes through a meteor swarm.

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meteor shower British  

noun

1. a transient rain of meteors, such as the Perseids, occurring at regular intervals and coming from a particular region in the sky. It is caused by the earth passing through a large number of meteoroids (a meteor swarm )

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meteor shower Scientific  

1. A brief period of heightened meteor activity, often occurring regularly in a particular part of the sky at a particular time of year. Meteor showers are generally named after the constellation in which they appear to originate; thus the Perseids appear to originate in the constellation Perseus and the Leonids in the constellation Leo. The showers occur when the Earth passes through a region having a greater than usual concentration of interplanetary debris, such as particles left by a disintegrating comet, at certain points in its orbit. Although the meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere on parallel trajectories, perspective makes it appear as if they originate from the same point in the sky, known as the radiant.

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Etymology

Origin of meteor shower

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meteor shower

In Wales, the Midlands and Northern England it may be more of a struggle to see the meteor shower, with a slow-moving weather front providing cloud and outbreaks of rain.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Orionid meteor shower is active from early October into November, reaching its peak around 21 October.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

"And just after the sun sets, the Perseid meteor shower will peak and the sky will be incredibly dark with 50 to 100 meteors every hour."

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

The day also marks the best time of the year to see the Perseids meteor shower.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Some part of the swarm is always at the same position in the Earth’s orbit, so the meteor shower is always observed on the same day of every year.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan