As the rare, larger meteoroids enter the atmosphere, they often leave a smoke trail behind. This trail can last from a few seconds to many minutes. The longer lasting trails are called trains. While they start out straight, the speedy high altitude winds around 80 kilometers or 60 miles high can distort them into strange shapes. Most meteoroids traveling through space are particles of interplanetary collisions that occurred eons ago. These particles were thrown into random orbits around the Sun and they account for a majority of the meteors we see.
Other meteoroids are formed by the disintegration of comets and asteroids. They travel in much the same orbit as their parent bodies the objects from which the meteoroids originally separated. During the course of a year, the Earth encounters many of these orbits producing more meteors in our sky. It is possible to predict the date that the Earth encounters the particles associated with specific comets and asteroids since the Earth intersects their orbits on the same date each year.
When these intersections occur, there is a chance that a meteor shower will be produced. Unfortunately, the word "shower" is a gross exaggeration of what actually occurs. A strong meteor shower will usually produce only one meteor per minute, hardly a shower compared to a rain shower! When you take into consideration the fact that on average, only five or six meteors are visible per hour, then the additional meteor per minute 60 per hour is impressive. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Burger the cat Feb 15, Haidenn Sep 19, I love this story and I also love wonderopolis! Sep 30, We love having you as a Wonder Friend, Haidenn! Thanks for letting us know, Haidenn!! Wonder Friend Feb 26, Feb 27, Dylan Sep 19, That article you suggested was awesome. Kaylee Jan 15, Jan 16, Uni T Nov 16, Nov 20, Thanks, Uni T! Alston Oct 27, Pretty nifty but already know this. Thanks anyway Wonderopolis. Oct 29, Gage Morris Oct 11, It's ironic, too! Were learning about the solar system!
Oct 16, Owen Sep 26, Oct 1, Oscar Sep 29, Sep 28, May 8, Oh wow - you changed your mind? Glad to hear it, Molly! Have a great day! Dec 2, We hope you have a nice day as well! Diego Nov 7, I wonder could other stars be just as good as the sun. We bet so, Diego! There are many stars in the universe just like our Sun! Isn't that cool?? Oct 18, Wolfie08 Oct 13, I already knew that 'falling stars'were just rocks Oct 14, Thanks for joining the conversation, Wolfie08!
Daniel Oct 18, Hey there, Daniel! Sep 9, We're glad you enjoyed this Wonder, awesomesauce10! May 18, Mario Jan 15, I never knew that there were 3 types of meteors. Apr 1, We're glad you learned something new, luigi! Oct 28, Sep 10, Aug 28, Happyowl Mar 17, Wonderopolis Mar 19, We are glad you liked it, Happyowl!
Davide Mar 4, Wonderopolis Mar 4, Cool site! It really helped me with the shooting stars. Wonderopolis Jan 8, Payson Oct 29, This was a really good wonder. Why did you choose to write this wonder? Wonderopolis Oct 29, Lana and renee Dec 3, We love the way that you put all of the information together. We didn't know that shooting stars were actually made out of rocks, we thought it was just a star falling, we thought wrong. Wonderopolis Dec 3, Ronnie M Nov 1, These events are called meteor showers and they occur when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet as it orbits the Sun.
These showers are given names based on the constellation present in the sky from which they appear to originate. It is important to understand that the meteoroids and therefore the meteors do not really originate from the constellations or any of the stars in the constellations, however. They just seem to come from that part of the sky because of the way the Earth encounters the particles moving in the path of the comet's orbit.
Associating the shower name with the region of the sky they seem to come from just helps astronomers know where to look! The dust and rocks that cause meteor showers come primarily from the Earth passing through the debris stream left behind by a comet as it orbits the Sun.
Usually, the Earth's orbit and the comet's orbit are slightly tilted relative to one another.
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