Facts About Shooting Stars
We've all looked up into the night skies and seen blazing balls of light "falling" into the abyss. If you blink, you might miss it, because it happens quickly. We call these shooting stars, or meteors. The truth is that shooting stars are constantly moving, but you can only see them when it is dark. What causes shooting stars to "shoot" is rather simple.
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What Are Shooting Stars?
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As the Earth orbits the sun, it passes small chunks of rock, ranging from the size of a speck of dust to the size of a golf ball, that often collide with the Earth's atmosphere. These rocks are sucked toward the Earth by its gravitational pull. The rocks begin to heat up and glow as they race through the atmosphere, and then they burn out. This reaction is what you see when you see a shooting star. According to Cornell University's Astronomy Department, you can see a shooting star every 10 to 15 minutes while stargazing.
Meteor Showers
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On a night when a meteor shower takes place, you see a steady flow of shooting stars "falling" into the atmosphere caused by the Earth traveling into the path of a comet. These shooting stars burn up almost immediately, creating a glowing streak and lingering trail called a meteor stream.
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Meteor Shower Conditions
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In the Northern Hemisphere, random meteor activity will take place from July to December, and in the Southern Hemisphere, the first half of the year is more active. On the night of a meteor shower, the shower will become more visible as it gets later; dusk is the worst time to view a shower, with early morning being the best. For best viewing conditions, according to the American Meteor Society, you must drive at least 20 miles away from the city to have enough darkness. Meteor showers are best seen on moonless nights with clear skies, away from city lights.
Meteor Storms
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A meteor shower typically delivers 20 to 25 meteors per hour. Every now and then, a meteor shower will take place after a comet travels near the Earth, leaving large clusters of rocks and debris in its trail. When Earth's atmosphere hits these masses of debris, a meteor storm takes place, producing a relentless shower of meteors.
Leonids Meteor Storm
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According to the Palomar College Astronomy Department, one of the more famous meteor showers takes place in mid-November. The shower, called Leonids, is caused by Tempel-Tuttle, a comet with a 33-year orbit. Leonids typically delivers about 60 to 100 meteors per hour, which fall from constellation Leo's eastern direction. According to Palomar College, about every 33 years, gazers are able to see a meteor storm, which is said to be quite a show.
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