Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets is a unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. Spectacular displays of 'shooting stars' are created when the Earth's orbit crosses a meteoroid stream, as each meteoroid causes a bright light when it enters our atmosphere at high speed. Jenniskens, an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of meteoroids, comets and asteroids, and how they cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions to comets and asteroids, the risk of meteor impacts on Earth, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with ingredients that made life possible.
All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next 50 years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.
Part I. Introduction: 1. How meteor showers were linked to comets; 2. What is at the core of comets ; 3. The formation of meteoroid streams; 4. Meteors from meteoroid impacts in Earth; 5. Comet and meteoroid orbits in space and time; Part II. Parent Bodies: 6. Long period comets; 7. Halley-type comets; 8. Jupiter-family comets; 9. Fading comets of the inner solar system; 10. Asteroids; Part III. Young Streams from Whipple-type Ejection: 11. What planets do to dust trails; 12. Meteor storm chasing; 13. Meteor outbursts from long-period comets; 14. Trapped: the Leonid Filament; 15. The Leonid storms; 16. The Ursids; 17. The Perseids; 18. Other Halley-type comets; 19. Dust trails of Jupiter-family comets; Part IV. Young Streams from Comet Fragmentation: 20. Broken comets; 21. Quadrantids; 22. Geminids; 23. The sunskirting streams: Arietids and delta-Aquariids; 24. Alpha-Capricornids and kappa-Cygnids; 25. The Taurid complex; Part V. Old Streams and Sporadic Meteoroids: 26. Annual showers; 27. Dispersion from gradually evolving parent body orbits; 28. The ecliptic streams; 29. Toroidal streams; 30. Meteor showers from asteroids; 31. Sporadic meteors and the zodiacal cloud; Part VI. Impact and Relevance of Meteor Showers: 32. Impact!; 33. Meteor showers on other planets; 34. Meteors and the origin of life; Appendices.
Dr Peter Jenniskens is a professional astronomer and research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute.
'This nice looking book comes at a special moment characterised by a growing interest in the studies of primitive bodies: comets and asteroids ! chapters are well ordered for the benefit of both the beginner and the specialist ! Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets is a good book for beginners, amateurs, and researchers interested not only in meteors, but also in the evolution of solar system minor bodies. the text provides an overall introduction to the origin of meteoroids and their direct applications to the study of their parent objects.' Meteoritics & Planetary Science 'this well illustrated book recounts the development of the theories of the evolution of meteoroids from comets and their subsequent orbital dynamics ! a labour of love, from a professional astronomer who is also a dedicated amateur observer ! the tour de force of the book is the extensive set of tables, which include predictions for expected meteor outbursts, and these will be of great benefit to the amateur observer ! a compulsory aid to planning when and were to take your next astronomical holiday.' Journal of the British Astronomical Association 'Jenniskens's tome is a veritable encyclopedia of past and current meteor studies.' Sky and Telescope '! I expected this to be the long-awaited standard text on the subject. As it turned out, I was not disappointed. ! There is little to find at fault in this book. ! It is, above all, a good read.' The Observatory