Rarely seen meteor shower might be flying over Kansas

An unpredictable and rarely seen meteor shower could be flying above Kansas this summer.

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Have you seen meteors shooting across the night sky recently? They could be part of a rarely-seen meteor shower.

KSNT 27 News spoke with Brenda Culbertson, a Solar System Ambassador with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), about this mysterious group of meteors. She said if you've seen meteors in the sky recently, they are likely part of the Bootid Meteor Shower which often ranges from June 22 to July 2. The shower typically peaks on the night of June 27.

NASA states on their website that this shower is one of the more unpredictable. Some years, there may only be a few meteors traveling across the sky other years there might be enough to create a meteor storm. In the past, the Bootid Meteor Shower saw increased activity with no discernable patterns in 1916, 1921, 1927 and most intensely in 1998.

The Bootid Meteor Shower originates from a constellation called Bootes, according to Culbertson. The best way to spot one of these meteors is to find a dark place away from sources of light such as cities and find the Bootes constellation in the night sky. Culbertson said looking directly up could result in you spotting a passing meteor.

"The number of meteors that may be seen and their brightness vary, so it is difficult to say, but if the path of one of the streaks is from overhead, it is probably associated with this shower," Culbertson said. "Other meteors not associated with a shower are called sporadics, and they can come from any direction, so don't be surprised if one crosses the sky."

While not a very popular meteor shower to observe, Culbertson said the meteors are still out there. The star chart below shows where the Bootes constellation should be in the night sky around 10 p.m.

The Bootid Meteor Shower comes from a comet called 7P/Pons-Winnecke, according to NASA. It orbits the sun once every 6.37 years, following an elliptical path where, at its farthest point, it goes beyond Jupiter in our solar system. A meteor shower can occur as Earth passes through a dense spot in the debris stream emitted by the comet.