Does the comet debris that creates the Perseid meteor showers orbit around the sun?

Question

It seems like the comet debris does not orbit, since we have these meteor showers every August. But doesn't everything in space move or orbit something?

Answer 1

Your last sentence is absolutely correct; in space, nothing is stationary.  Pretty much everything is in orbit arund something else.  The Moon orbits the Earth, the Earth and planets (and cometary dust trails) orbit the Sun, the Sun orbits the center of the galaxy...there are even galaxies that orbit each other.  It's all driven by gravity, a truly universal force.

The Perseids are caused by dust left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.  This comet is indeed orbiting the Sun, and its orbit intersects that of the Earth.  I've read some stuff indicating that Comet Swift-Tuttle may eventually hit the Earth, but it won't be in our lifetimes, because the comet's orbital period is hundreds of years long and its last closest approach was in 1992.

The comet's orbit intersects that of the Earth when the Earth is in August, specifically centered around August 12.  That's why we get a slow build-up of meteor activity in the days before the 12th, and a slow decline in the days following.

I hope that helps.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Just to add to Lucas's answer, the dust which causes the meteors isn't stationary but is also orbiting the Sun. It's spread out all around the comet's orbit, so we run into it once a year. The particles may be the size of grains of sand but they are still orbiting the Sun. Other meteor showers are particles in different orbits which is why they appear to come from various directions all around the sky. If they were stationary, they would all appear to come from the direction in which the earth happened to be travelling at the time, at 90 degrees to the Sun.

Answer 3

Yes it does orbit around the sun. We went to Wisconsin to watch it this year but didn't see as many as we hoped.

The Perseids come every August 12.

Answer 4

Yes it does orbit the Sun. You are right that everything in space is moving in some kind of orbit.