Learn about the Perseid meteor shower

Lesson Plans by subject

Overview: What is the Perseid meteor shower? What are micrometeorites? Challenge students to learn how to collect micrometeorites, and to discover what meteorites reveal about the formation of our solar system.

Curriculum connections: Science, Space

Objectives
Students will be able to:

• Explain characteristics of the Perseid meteor shower.
• Determine how meteorites supply information about the formation of our solar system.

Standards
Benchmarks On-Line
Physical setting, The universe, grades nine- 12
High school students should know that increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the universe. Visual, radio, and X-ray telescopes collect information from across the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves; computers handle an avalanche of data and increasingly complicated computations to interpret them; space probes send back data and materials from the remote parts of the solar system; and accelerators give subatomic particles energies that simulate conditions in the stars and in the early history of the universe before stars formed.

Materials
CNNfyi.com article, "Perseid meteor shower"
Internet access
Earth science textbook

Suggested time
Article and questions only: 30 minutes
Full lesson plan: Two to three classroom periods

Procedure
1. Survey the students to determine if anyone has witnessed a meteor shower. If so, invite students to share what they saw. Inform your class that the Perseid meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the dusty debris left behind from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet.
2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article, "Perseid meteor shower" and ask the following:

• When will the Perseid meteor shower take place? How long will it last? Why do you think between midnight and dawn is the best time to view the meteor shower?
• What are some early accounts of the Perseid meteor shower? Why do some devout Catholics in Western Europe call the yearly event "the tears of St. Lawrence"? How did the meteor shower get the name "Perseid"?
• How fast do the bits of space dust enter the Earth's atmosphere during the meteor shower? From where do they originate? Who is Ed Johnson? How is he preparing for the Perseid meteor shower?

3. Pair students. Have each pair use their textbooks and online resources to complete the following: define and illustrate the terms meteroid, meteor and meteorite. Answer the following questions: What are the three major types of meteorites? Why is Antarctica the easiest place to find meteorites?
4. Refer students to the following Holt, Rinehhart and Winston site to complete the Collecting Micrometeorites activity.

Assessment
Have students write essays explaining how studying elements in meteorites gives scientists insights about the formation of the solar system.

Challenge
Students can identify other meteor showers and create a chart showing their date, approximate duration, number per hour at maximum and parent object.

Extension
Students can observe the Perseid meteor shower and write a description in a journal entry.