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What Are Meteors?
Meteors, more commonly referred to as “falling” or “shooting” stars, come from streams of particles traveling around the sun in defined orbits that eventually cross the Earth’s orbit. As the Earth revolves around the Sun, it encounters different streams at the same point in its orbit. When the Earth passes through the orbit of the stream, it “scoops” some of the particles into its atmosphere, creating a meteor shower.
Though 100 million or more strike our atmosphere every 24 hours, those larger than dust particles are usually vapourized long before they can ever get close to the Earth’s surface.
The average meteor is estimated to weigh 0.0005 ounce. Meteors may be seen on almost any clear night, though they are more common in the hours after midnight. A single observer, far from bright lights with an unobstructed view of the sky, can usually see about 6 or 7 per hour. When the Earth’s orbit intersects a meteor stream, a meteor “shower” is said to be in progress.
Occasionally, stupendous meteor displays can fill the sky with celestial fireworks, but these meteor “storms” are rare, occurring at best, only several times per century.
Very bright meteors are termed fireballs. If a solid object reaches the ground, it is called a meteorite. They vary from bits hardly larger than dust particles to chunks weighing tons.
Although only about ten meteor showers are well known to produce spectacles worth watching, dozens of different showers have been identified. The meteors’ location among the stars gives a shower its name. For example, meteors of the Leonid showers appear to radiate from a region in Leo; the August Perseids from a region in Perseus, and so on.
From August 11-13th, the Preseids may be viewable. For informaiton on when and how to view these meteor showers, check out our Meteor Showers page.
