Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which comet produces the Perseid meteor shower?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Meteor and meteoroid
The Cabin Creek meteorite, an iron (nickel-iron alloy) meteorite that was observed to fall in northwestern Arkansas on March 27, 1886. Its characteristic pattern of “thumbprint” dimples, or regmaglypts, is the result of melting and consequent ablation of its surface as it traveled through the atmosphere. The meteorite is likely a fragment of one of the M class asteroids, which show significant nickel-iron in their surface material.
The Perseid meteor shower is produced by dust left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle as it orbits the Sun.1
As Earth passes through the trail of debris shed by this comet, the dust grains enter the atmosphere and burn up, creating the visual phenomenon known as a meteor shower. Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli confirmed the connection between the Perseids and Comet Swift-Tuttle in 1867.12