meteor shower

American  

Also meteoric shower

noun

Astronomy.

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

---

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 )

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of meteor shower

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

One of the best known active asteroids is 3200 Phaethon, the source of the Geminid meteor shower that peaks every December.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2026

Scientists still have not identified the parent asteroid responsible for this newly discovered meteor shower.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2026

While the Lyrid meteor shower is visible every year, Comet Thatcher takes 415 years to complete its orbit of the Sun and won't be visible again until 2283.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

The Lyrid meteor shower is an annual event as a result of the Earth passing through dust left behind Comet Thatcher.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 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